Letter to The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert

September 27, 2006

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker
US House of Representatives
H232 Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Hastert,

We are writing to urge the House Leadership to accept the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report language that will extend the implementation date of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) until June 1, 2009 and set guidelines for alternative documents to a passport.

As you are aware, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State to implement a plan, called WHTI, to require travelers re-entering the US from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean to present documents denoting both identity and citizenship by January 1, 2008. We believe the Intelligence Reform bill gives DHS and State discretion to develop low-cost and easily obtainable documents for US travelers.

Unfortunately, DHS and the State Department are pursuing a deeply-flawed plan that will negatively impact cross-border commerce with minimal gains to border security. The Government Accountability Office concluded in May that DHS and State have made no key programmatic decisions and are not likely to meet the 2008 deadline. In addition, former 9/11 Commissioner Slade Gorton has stated that WHTI is not what the Commission intended and has called on DHS and State to rethink their position.

The Senate's Homeland Security Appropriations bill wisely contained language that would extend the WHTI deadline and give DHS and State clear instructions for establishing low-cost travel documents.

Sixty-two members of the House, including 24 Republicans, sent the Homeland Security Appropriations Chairman and Ranking Member a letter in July urging them to include in the Homeland Security Appropriation Conference Report the WHTI deadline and parameters for alternative travel documents passed by the Senate. We have included this letter for your review. Members from both parties recognize that we need a smart and secure US border, and that WHTI as currently envisioned fails to uphold both principles.

The conferees to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill reportedly agreed to include key elements we have sought in the final conference report, including a harmonization of the sea and land deadline and an extension of the deadline until June 2009. Unfortunately, we understand that there are some in the House Leadership that oppose the conferees' decision to extend the deadline, and are considering measures to strip out the language before the bill reaches the House floor for a vote. We urge the Leadership not to rewrite the conference report, and to accept the bipartisan agreement reached by the conferees.

The WHTI provision is a necessary first-step toward ensuring that WHTI strengthens border security without unintentionally closing our borders to legitimate trade and travel. Accordingly, we strongly urge you to ensure that the language agreed to by the Homeland Security conferees remains in the final bill. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
(signed)

1. Rep. Louise M. Slaughter
2. Rep. Bart Stupak
3. Rep. Silvestre Reyes
4. Rep. John Dingell
5. Rep. James Oberstar
6. Rep. Earl Pomeroy
7. Rep. Sam Farr
8. Rep. Lloyd Doggett
9. Rep. Rick Larsen
10. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa
11. Rep. Norman Dicks
12. Rep. Solomon Ortiz
13. Rep. Bernard Sanders
14. Rep. Sander Levin
15. Rep. Dale Kildee
16. Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick
17. Rep. Raul Grijalva
18. Rep. Thomas Allen
19. Rep. Jim McDermott
20. Rep. Michael Michaud
21. Rep. Brian Higgins
22. Rep. Jay Inslee

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