| May 19, 2012 |
Dear El Pasoans:
This week, I was proud to announce that legislation I authored passed both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, and the bill is now headed to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature. The Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2012, which strengthens existing legislation that criminalizes the use, construction, and financing of cross-border tunnels, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives by a strong bi-partisan vote of 416 to 4 and passed the in the Senate by unanimous consent.
This bill is now two steps closer to becoming law, and I am thankful to my colleagues in both the House and Senate for supporting this important legislation to help prevent illicit narcotics and other contraband from entering our country. Under current law, attempting or conspiring to use, construct or finance a cross-border tunnel is not prohibited, allowing criminal organizations to continue digging secret passageways that could be used to funnel drugs, firearms, cash, and people between the U.S. and Mexico with little risk of prosecution.
The 2012 Border Tunnel Prevention Act is an important piece of legislation that will close loopholes in the current law and drastically improve the tools available to investigate and prosecute individuals who construct cross-border tunnels, as well as allow for the forfeiture of bulk cash and merchandise that enters the United States through these illegal channels.
I worked closely with Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California), Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as other Members of Congress from border communities to move this legislation forward.
Reyes opposes bill that rolls back protections for domestic violence victims
This past week, the U.S. House of Representatives considered legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The bill passed the House on mostly partisan votes fails to protect some of the most vulnerable victims of violence. Here is my statement on the bill which I strongly opposed:
"I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 4970, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. This controversial bill would weaken long-standing protections and fails to protect the most vulnerable victims of violence.
"Last month, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Instead of supporting the bipartisan Senate Bill, House Republicans introduced a dangerous partisan bill that rolls back many vital protections for battered women and shifts the power into the hands of abusers. This bill fails to protect battered immigrant spouses legally here, diminishes protections for the LGBT community, and neglects challenges facing Native American victims. It is a slap in the face to victims and those who have worked tirelessly to protect them.
"One out of every four women in the United States is physically assaulted by an intimate partner and more than 740,000 children and youth are treated in hospital emergency departments as a result of violence each year— more than 84 every hour. In Texas, last year the number of family violence fatalities increased 28 percent from 2010. In El Paso, Texas according to the El Paso Police Department, police responded to 200 reports of sexual assault and 4,500 domestic violence cases just last year.
"These numbers indicate the severity of a widespread problem that can have devastating social and health-related consequences and this bill will only weaken the confidentiality provisions for victims seeking protection from further violence. This bill reverses the “U” visa program that encourages immigrant victims of crime to report and help prosecute serious criminal activity and now will create obstacles for those seeking to report crimes. Now immigrant victims will be far less likely to share potentially valuable information with police that could help solve crimes and prosecute offenders.
"Republicans in the House should drop their misguided attempt to undermine the Violence Against Women Act that puts the safety and security of women at risk and instead should reauthorize and strengthen the existing program, as the Senate has already done. House Republicans should be ashamed of politicizing such an important issue and for attempting to roll back longstanding bipartisan protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence.
"As the National Organization for Women has stated, this bill “disregards the biases and disrespect that certain victims face when seeking help from the criminal justice system and access to lifesaving services, effectively giving second-class treatment to Native American, immigrant women, and LGBT victims. The bill smacks of willful ignorance of the problem and hostility to people deemed not to be 'true' victims.” I fully support this statement because the fact of the matter is, violence is violence, regardless of who the victim is.
"As a husband, father, and grandfather to four wonderful women, this issue is very important to me. If there is any issue where we should all agree, it is to help stop domestic and sexual violence, and to protect all victims. This should not be a political issue, but a matter of protecting those whom are most vulnerable. I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this partisan measure."
Reyes secured funding to rehab schools on military bases
Earlier this week I announced that the Department of Defense awarded $13,215,233 in federal funds for total reconstruction of Logan Heights Elementary that is located at Fort Bliss and is part of the El Paso Independent School District school.
As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I worked together with my fellow Democrats on the Appropriations Committee to provide needed funds to replace and repair aging school districts on military installations around the country. Logan Heights Elementary, which was originally constructed over 50 years ago, is currently serving as many as 300 students over its capacity. The age of facility and large student population put Logan at the top of the priority list for replacement. Providing $13 million in federal funds will help EPISD focus resources on other priorities including keeping teachers in the classroom and our children learning. This funding will help ensure that all children in El Paso have safe schools where they can learn and grow.
Funding for the Logan Heights Elementary School replacement was appropriated by Congress as part of the Fiscal Year 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act and the funding will be overseen by the Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment which previously administered $300,000 which I secured to support the transfer of Castner Range and over $3.6 million for the City of El Paso's efforts to plan for the expansion of Fort Bliss.
The El Paso Independent School District will provide $3,304,000 in matching funds to move the Logan Heights Elementary project forward.
Please visit my website at www.Reyes.House.gov to get the latest news about my activities in Congress and be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr for updates.
Saludos,
Silvestre Reyes
Proudly representing the
16th District of Texas
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