|
|
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of the federal government |
|
to fully maintain the security of the Texas-Mexico international |
|
border; and |
|
WHEREAS, The federal government has neglected its duty to |
|
fully maintain the security of the Texas-Mexico international |
|
border; and |
|
WHEREAS, An unprotected border facilitates drug smuggling |
|
and human trafficking and opens the door to spillover violence from |
|
criminal cartels; moreover, the ease with which members of |
|
terrorist organizations can enter the country poses a grave threat |
|
to homeland security; and |
|
WHEREAS, The federal government's failure to prevent illegal |
|
entry has shifted much of the responsibility to the State of Texas; |
|
consequently, budget writers must weigh the costs of border |
|
security against the expense of other state services; during the |
|
2012-2013 budget cycle, Texas appropriated $221,600,000 for border |
|
security operations; and |
|
WHEREAS, The executive branch and the United States Congress |
|
have consistently delayed meaningful action on border security, |
|
forcing Texas to expend significant resources to keep the |
|
Texas-Mexico international border secure and placing an undue |
|
burden on the state's taxpayers; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
hereby express its dissatisfaction with the federal government's |
|
inadequate efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico international |
|
border; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
|
reimburse the State of Texas in the amount of $221,600,000 for |
|
bearing the financial burden of the federal government's |
|
responsibility to secure the Texas-Mexico international border |
|
during the 2012-2013 budget cycle; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
|
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
|
the speaker of the house of representatives and to the president of |
|
the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of |
|
the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this |
|
resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to |
|
the Congress of the United States of America. |
|
|
|
* * * * * |