This bill, which I voted for, appropriates $33.1 billion to improve our homeland security, $1.8 billion more than the total amount provided in FY 2006.  The bill specifically provides $19.6 billion for border security and immigration enforcement, which is $1.6 billion more than the current funding. 

Last month, the House of Representatives also passed H.R. 4954, the SAFE Port Act, which authorizes increased funding for port and cargo security programs and sets new requirements on existing programs.  These bills are important steps in providing real solutions for protecting our borders and I am pleased that we could come together to adequately fund our homeland security needs. 

In addition to approving funding for homeland security, Congress has also begun the process of reforming immigration policy.  Currently, the House and Senate have different approaches to immigration reform.  The Senate recently passed S.2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which includes a guest worker program that could accommodate 200,000 immigrants a year and provides illegal immigrants with a chance to become citizens.  On the other hand, the House plan, which I support, calls for tougher border security.

I am opposed to illegal immigration and any effort to provide immediate amnesty to those currently living illegally in the United States. Any immigration reform must first begin with border security.  I strongly believe that we must do all that we can to make sure our borders are secure in this post 9-11 world. 

Accordingly, I joined a majority of my colleagues in the House in voting to strengthen and protect America’s borders by supporting H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act.  This legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239-182.  This bill would help control the flow of immigration into the United States by taking steps to tighten border controls and provide all employers with a reliable method of determining whether job applicants are legally eligible to work.

While we are a nation of immigrants, we must also remember that we are a nation of laws that provide rules towards a legal path to citizenship.  This is why, as your Representative in Congress, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives in a bipartisan manner to address illegal immigration and work to secure and protect our borders.

“I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Drew Goesl as my new chief of staff,” Ross said.  “As an Arkansas native from Texarkana, Goesl possesses the ‘Arkansas values’ that my office is built upon.  We are excited to welcome him aboard.”

 “As a lifelong resident of the Fourth Congressional District, this is both an exciting and a humbling opportunity,” Goesl said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Congressman Ross and his staff and I am honored to serve the people of Arkansas as a member of his Congressional team.”

Born and raised in Texarkana, Drew is a lifelong resident of Arkansas’ Fourth Congressional District.  Goesl is a 1994 graduate of Arkansas Senior High School in Texarkana, where his parents Jeanne and Ladd Goesl still reside. Upon graduation from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Goesl joined the fund-raising staff of Blanche Lincoln’s first campaign for the U.S. Senate. 

After Lincoln’s successful election, Goesl moved to Washington with Lincoln and worked his way up her organization from Deputy Press Secretary, to Press Secretary, to his current position, as Lincoln’s Communications Director, senior advisor and spokesperson.  He also recently completed a year long stint as President of the prestigious, bipartisan U.S. Senate Press Secretaries Association.  Goesl will begin working for Ross on June 19^th in his Washington, D.C. office.

Each year the U.S. Department of Education adjusts the interest rates on outstanding college loans. Rates on student loans are expected to rise to just over 7 percent and rates on parent loans are expected to rise to 7.8 percent. Student borrowers who consolidate their outstanding loans before July 1^st would be eligible to lock in an interest rate as low as 4.75 percent, saving an average of about $3,500 over the life of the loan. Parent borrowers who consolidate before July 1^st would be eligible to lock in a rate as low as 6.1 percent.

If individuals think that loan consolidation is right for them and they have a Direct Loan through the Department of Education, they may call 1-800-557-7392 or apply online at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov. If they have a loan through the Federal Family Education Loan program (a bank-based loan), they can contact the company that owns the loan(s). If the loans are with more than one lender,   individuals can consolidate through the Department of Education or with any lender that provides federal consolidation loans.