Stalled border bill does not discourage rancher

Whether it was bad weather outside or inside the Capitol, the border bill touted by Congresswoman Martha McSally has been delayed. The House was supposed to vote on it Wednesday. The delay was attributed to the blizzard that hit the northeast. But critics said that was just an excuse to buy time and get more support for the bill. Several conservative Republicans opposed the bill, and said it doesn't go far enough. Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson said the bill goes way too far and doesn't give enough funding for the agency to implement it. The delay comes on the heels of more than 20 members of Congress touring the border last weekend. John Ladd hosted the delegation on his ranch near Bisbee on Saturday. He doesn't like everything about the bill, such as giving Customs and Border Protection authority to override environmental protection laws on lands up to 100 miles in from the border, but he considered the delay as hope the bill will be changed for the better. "This isn't going to happen overnight. I think if we see any really positive developments, it's going to be at least a year,” Ladd said. Twenty-one members of Congress, including Congresswoman Martha McSally and the House Homeland Security Committee chair Michael McCaul visited the ranch of John Ladd on the border near Bisbee Saturday. The visit was part of a three-day tour from San Diego to McAllen, Texas. McSally amended the “Secure Our Borders First” act to require Border Patrol resources to be as close to the border as possible. The change is important to ranchers in Arizona because they say that the wall isn't working on its own. Even if the bill appears stalled in the House, Ladd said that he still thinks the visit was the most productive thing he's seen from Congress in 20 years...more