Bruce Westerman Touts FLASH Act To Bolster Border Security Operations Against Cartels

10 hours ago

During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) spoke about the FLASH Act.

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Transcript

00:00And I'll recognize the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Westerman, for an opening statement.

00:05Thank you, Chairman Tiffany, for holding this hearing today. I also want to thank

00:08Representative Siskimani for compiling this crucial legislation. The committee traveled

00:14to Representative Siskimani's district last year to see firsthand the environmental destruction

00:19happening on southern federal borderlands. We went to the border with Cochise County Sheriff

00:25Mark Danels. Sheriff Danels told us something I'd like everyone to remember as we listen to

00:30today's hearing. We do not have a border security problem in this country. We have an organized crime

00:36problem, is what the sheriff told us at that field hearing. Nowhere is this issue more pronounced

00:43than on federal lands. People often don't realize just how much of our southern border is comprised

00:48of federal land. In Arizona, for example, 80% of the border is federally owned. On this committee,

00:55we have often highlighted the serious problems that result from excessive federal land ownership.

01:00But these issues take on an even greater significance along the southern border,

01:04where America's safety and sovereignty are on the line. Whenever I meet with CBP officials,

01:11they reiterate how difficult it is to patrol the federal portions of the border.

01:16These agents who are just trying to do their jobs frequently lack accessible roads to conduct

01:21effective patrols and must contend with the head-scratching absence of fiscal barriers

01:25that are proven to reduce illegal immigration. In some areas, restrictive land use designations,

01:31such as wilderness areas, mean agents must stop active pursuit of dangerous criminals because

01:36they can't use mechanized or motorized equipment. Instead, they have to wait for horses to arrive

01:43while dangerous illegal immigrants get further and further away. This just isn't common sense.

01:49These restrictions come with considerable cost. When we fail to secure our federal lands,

01:54we fail to secure our border. This lesson was revealed in painful clarity during the recent

01:59chaos of the Biden administration when more than eight million illegal entry attempts occurred

02:04along the southern border. This surge in illegal crossings pushed law enforcement to the brink

02:09and imperiled the well-being of large swaths of our public lands. Drug and human traffickers seek

02:15out remote areas to access the country and evade detection. Illegal immigrants cut trails through

02:21sensitive wildlife habitat, start wildfires, and leave behind an estimated six to eight pounds of

02:27trash per person. Illegal immigration also deters members of the public from visiting these areas,

02:33effectively nullifying their right to safe access. The effects of illegal immigration extend far

02:40beyond the southern border. In California, dangerous cartels grow illegal marijuana on

02:45federal forest lands and use the proceeds to fund gang wars, human trafficking, and other illicit

02:51activities. In New York, an overwhelming crush of migrants prompted the Biden administration to turn

02:56National Park Service land into an illegal immigrant tent city against the sustained

03:01outrage of local residents. Action is long overdue and the FLASH Act will tackle some of the most

03:07urgent issues facing federal borderlands. It will demand better coordination between federal land

03:12managers and border patrol agents to improve enforcement in remote areas. The legislation

03:18requires federal agencies to meaningfully address trash accumulations, marijuana cultivation,

03:23and other environmental hazards on our public landscapes. The bill also guarantees appalling

03:28abuses of national park lands like what happened at Floyd Bennett Field will never happen again.

03:34Finally, the FLASH Act includes my legislation that would build new roads along the southern

03:39border to increase the operational effectiveness of border patrol operations. I first learned about

03:44the lack of accessible roads from border patrol agents on a tour in the Coronado National Forest

03:50and it overwhelmingly remains the number one security concern I hear about on our federal lands.

03:55Taken together, these statutory authorities will complement the work President Trump is doing to

04:00secure our border and keep our nation safer and more prosperous for generations to come.

04:05Again, I'm grateful for Representative Siscamani's leadership on the issue and I especially

04:10appreciate all the witnesses who have traveled to be here. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Bruce Westerman Touts FLASH Act To Bolster Border Security Operations Against Cartels

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