Oppose DHS Waiver Authority for All Laws
02/09/05

U.S. House
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative, 

On behalf of our millions of members, we oppose language in H.R. 418, the REAL I.D. Act, that would provide the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with sweeping new authority to waive any federal or state law, including those that protect public health, safety and the environment, that would otherwise apply to the construction of roads, walls, fences and other barriers along U.S. borders.  Our members, like all Americans, want our nation’s borders to be secure.  However, H.R. 418 is attempting to place a federal official above all law and shield him from accountability in a manner that is itself an affront to our democracy.    

It is critical to note that this provision is not limited to a single fencing project along the San Diego border, but would apply to all areas along and “in the vicinity” of our international boundaries with both Mexico and Canada.  Under this sweeping waiver, DHS would be free to undertake large construction projects anywhere along our borders without oversight, accountability, or legal constraints -- from the densely populated border communities in California, Texas and Washington, to the remote wilderness of Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, to the pristine islands and waters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota.  Never before has any federal agency or official been provided with such a breadth of unjustified exemptions from law. 

As environmental organizations, we are especially concerned about those laws that will directly impact public health and the environment.  Public health laws like the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act [b1]  exist to protect citizens from an unhealthy environment. Additionally, our border areas contain an enormous amount of protected federal lands, including National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Forests and wilderness areas, all of which could be subject to this provision.

We are a nation founded on the rule of law.  To place any federal official above literally any law of their choosing – whether environmental, labor, civil rights or contract law – is a step that should not be taken lightly.  Yet DHS has not demonstrated a need to waive any or all laws.  In fact, there has not been a single Congressional hearing that has illustrated a need for these broad exemptions.  Furthermore, H.R. 418 removal of all avenues of judicial review is a direct affront to our most basic Constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers.  We believe that it is possible to ensure border security while shielding the public and the environment from harm and have not seen evidence otherwise.    

We strongly urge you to reject this attempt to include language that would allow for DHS to waive environmental laws or other important health and safety statutes.

Marty Hayden, Legislative Director
Earthjustice

Betsy Loyless, Vice President of Policy and Lobbying
League of Conservation Voters

Mary Beth Beetham, Director of Legislative Affairs
Defenders of Wildlife

Beth Lowell, Policy Director
Endangered Species Coalition

Debbie Boger, Deputy Legislative Director
Sierra Club

Karen Wayland, Legislative Director
Natural Resources Defense Council

Kevin S. Curtis, Vice President
National Environmental Trust

Anne Georges, Deputy Director of Government Affairs
The Audubon Society

Daniel R. Patterson, Ecologist & Desert Program Director
Center for Biological Diversity

Linda Lance, Vice President for Public Policy
The Wilderness Society

Glenn Wiser, Senior Attorney
Center for International Environmental Law

Tiernan Sittenfield, Acting Legislative Director
U.S. PIRG

Sara Zdeb, Legislative Director
Friends of the Earth

Sincerely,

Deb Callahan
President, LCV