Panel #3
April 28th, 2008, 11:38 am · 1 Comment · posted by ksieff
John McClung, President and CEO of the Texas Produce Association
Ken Merritt, Private Citizen
Laura Peterson, Senior Policy Advisor, Taxpayers for Common Sense
Zack Taylor, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (Retired), Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
McClung: “We’re not really talking about a border wall here, we’re talking about a ’south of the border wall.’”
“We haven’t been told how farmers will access the river…we have to have access 24/7; it’s a very practical kind of problem.”
“Nothing has been said about the value of land south of the levee after the wall is constructed.”
Merritt: Until last year, worked for Fish and Wildlife in the RGV. He worked for 30 years with F & W as a biologist.
“Level of surveys (at wildlife refuges along the border) did not allow adequate time for environmental “
“Ocelot Jaguarundi will be very much impacted by the wall.”
“We have over 300 fires on U.S. Fish and Wildlife properties every year. How will these fires be dealt with?”
Peterson:
“Border wall as currently envisioned will cost billions of dollars alone.”
“Procedural short cuts…almost guarantee misspending.”
“First fence in San Diego did little to stop immigration until Operation Gatekeeper added border patrol agents to the area.”
“The current border wall plan…is more likely to pump money into an ineffective project…”
April 28th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Everyone is forgetting-it is the Land Owner who the government and
the Border Patrol should be talking to. Everyone came to the hearing for their on agenda today. My family’s life and safety is more important than the welfare of animals or church. No one that I spoke to or listened to showed any real concern, sympathy or acknowledgment for the situation that land owners are in. Today’s hearing only re-enforced the lack of touch our government has with it’s citizens. God Bless America!