mr. chairman , i appreciate the gentlewoman 's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this , and i agree with her very strongly . 
make no mistake , our side of the aisle is supportive of this legislation . 
we want to work with the state and local authorities first to do it right . 
these are the people who feel these concerns every bit as strongly as members of congress . 
in fact , they are on the line every day providing for the safety and security of our constituents in a much more immediate sense than we are . 
do not be afraid to work with them . 
but with all due respect to the gentlewoman from the district of columbia , i have one other provision that deeply offends me as a former elected official , as a member of this body and somebody who believes in checks and balances . 
i look at section 102 . 
i wish that it were buried in the legislation , but it is not . 
it is right here in the beginning . 
if this provision , the waiver of all laws necessary for quote improvements of barriers at the border was to become law , the secretary of homeland security could give a contract to his political cronies that had no safety standards , using 12-year-old illegal immigrants to do the labor , run it through the site of a native american burial ground , kill bald eagles in the process , and pollute the drinking water of neighboring communities . 
and under the provisions of this act , no member of congress , no citizen could do anything about it because you waive all judicial review . 
now , bear in mind you are giving this authority to the head of homeland security , hardly a paragon of sensitivity and efficiency . 
anybody who stands in those lines week after week or watches the bizarre color-coded warning system knows that that is hardly the exemplar . 
security at the borders is important ; and if somebody has a problem with building a security fence , by all means , congress should deal with it . 
but as far as i know , no committee has been called upon to do that yet . 
there are important waiver provisions that are available . 
but waiving all laws for construction is an inappropriate decision . 
and with all due respect , it is a dangerous precedent that anybody on either side of the aisle should be deeply offended by . 
