,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hcg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #b1 #bjag,ms4 ,michelle ,lujan ,grisham of ,new ,mexico 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,correa1 ,mr4 ,evans1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 ,ms4 ,meng1 ,mr4 ,ruiz1 ,ms4 ,barragn1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,ms4 ,clark of ,massachusetts1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mrs4 ,torres1 ,mr4 ,castro of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,gonzalez of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,swalwell of ,california1 ,mr4 ,pallone1 ,mr4 ,kihuen1 ,ms4 ,hanabusa1 ,mr4 ,vela1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,foster1 ,mr4 ,cummings1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,gene ,green of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,mr4 ,lewis of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,carbajal1 ,mr4 ,o',rourke1 ,mr4 ,veasey1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,garamendi1 ,mr4 ,nadler1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,mr4 ,cuellar1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,ms4 ,lee1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,ms4 ,snchez1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 ,mr4 ,serrano1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,gutirrez1 ,ms4 ,judy ,chu of ,california1 ,mr4 ,quigley1 ,mr4 ,engel1 and ,ms4 ,titus7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,homeland ,security1 and ,foreign ,affairs1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit construction of a continuous wall or fence between the ,united ,states and ,mexico1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,build ,bridges ,not ,walls ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the existing ,united ,states-,mexico border infrastructure already includes physical barriers1 drones1 cameras1 motion detectors1 thermal imaging sensors1 ground sensors1 and other surveillance tools4 7#b7 ,the ,united ,states already maintains approximately #fej miles of border fence in areas that most effectively stop the unauthorized entry of people1 vehicles1 drugs1 arms1 and illicit items4 7#c7 ,the number of ,u4,s4 ,border ,patrol agents nearly doubled from #aj1gag in #aiic to #ba1cgj in #bjaf4 7#d7 ,most experts believe that the ,trump ,administration's border wall will cost between #ae billion to #be billion1 not including additional maintenance costs4 7#e7 ,harsh terrain and conditions along remote parts of the ,united ,states-,mexico border make the construction of a wall or fence impractical1 ineffective1 and costly4 7#f7 ,former ,,cbp ,commissioner ,gil ,kerlikowske stated that building a continuous wall is not feasible or the smartest way to use taxpayer money4 7#g7 ,a continuous border wall would likely harm wildlife1 destroy sensitive habitat for endangered species1 damage the environment and the natural flow of floodwaters1 and lead to costly litigation with landowners1 the ,native ,american community1 and stakeholders4 7#h7 ,border security is a complex issue that depends on effectively using resources to maintain operational control of the border while also facilitating the movement of people1 goods1 and services4 7#i7 ,the ,american people want ,congress to use taxpayer dollars wisely and focus on middle-class priorities1 including economic development1 education1 and health care4 #c4 ,prohibition on construction of a ,united ,states-,mexico border wall ,the ,executive order entitled ,border ,security and ,immigration ,enforcement ,improvements signed by the ,president on ,january #be1 #bjag1 or any other substantially similar ,executive order1 memorandum1 or other action by the ,president to use taxpayer dollars or fees to construct a continuous wall or fence between the ,united ,states and ,mexico1 shall have no force or effect4