Letter to The Honorable Barbara Mikulski, Chairwoman, The Honorable Richard Shelby, Vice Chairman of Committee on Appropriations, The Honorable Mary Landrieu, Chairwoman, and The Honorable Dan Coats, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security - Opposition to Border Fees at Northern, Southwester Border

Letter

In a letter to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the committee, expressed her serious concern with a proposal to "study the feasibility and cost related to imposing a crossing fee on pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the northern and southwestern borders," which would include Maine's border with Canada.

"I have grave concerns about imposing such a fee on individuals crossing the border over land and am opposed to including any measure in the FY 2014 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would allow this proposal to move forward," wrote Senator Collins.

Following is the full text of Senator Collins' letter:

The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Chairwoman
The Honorable Richard Shelby
Vice Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mary Landrieu
Chairwoman
The Honorable Dan Coats
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Homeland Security
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairwoman Landrieu and Ranking Member Coats:

I am writing to express my serious concern with the Department of Homeland Security's plan to study the feasibility and cost related to imposing a crossing fee on pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the northern and southwest borders, as proposed in the President's budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. I have grave concerns about imposing such a fee on individuals crossing the border over land and am opposed to including any measure in the FY 2014 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would allow this proposal to move forward. Current federal law bars the U.S. Treasury and the Attorney General from charging and collecting any fee for the immigration inspection and pre-inspection of passengers arriving over land at a U.S. port of entry whose journey originated in Canada, Mexico, any state or U.S. territory, or any adjacent island. (See 8 USC 1356(e).) This prohibition should be maintained.

I grew up in Aroostook County, Maine, which shares a border with Canada. For many border community residents, crossing the border is a way of life in order to access essential services, travel to their jobs, to shop and dine, to attend church, and to visit family and friends. According to the Maine International Trade Center, more than 300,000 people cross the U.S.-Canadian border each day. Many American communities and businesses along the northern border rely on trade and tourism to power their economies. Moreover, imposing a land border fee on individuals would further deter Canadians from visiting the United States. A decrease in tourism and travel would have a detrimental impact on these border communities and hinder the strong economic relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

While I recognize the difficult challenges facing the Department, particularly in light of sequestration, imposing a border crossing fee for individuals crossing the border over land is not a sustainable solution to the Customs and Border Protection's budgetary concerns. As such, I respectfully request that the subcommittee include the following language in the FY 2014 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill to block this misguided plan:

None of the funds provided by this Act may be used to conduct a study assessing the feasibility and cost relating to establishing and collecting a land border crossing fee for both land border pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the northern and southwest borders of the United States.

I look forward to working with you as the Committee develops its spending bill for the next fiscal year.

Source