By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is putting pressure on the White House to reverse a Department of Homeland Security decision abandoning the concept of shared border management at the Peace Bridge.
The decision came down last week. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff informed the local congressional delegation that his department would no longer negotiate with the Canadian government on plans to locate all customs functions on the Fort Erie side of the Peace Bridge.
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter says that means the US will have to come up with plans for facilities on the Buffalo side of the Peace Bridge.
On Friday, Slaughter released a statement with fellow New York congressman John McHugh, a Republican, that was critical of the Homeland Security Department. She says smart border policies have time and again been replaced with ones that, quoting here -- "thicken" the border.
Slaughter says she spent part of Friday in conference calls with business leaders in hopes of reversing the decision.
Slaughter says the House Committee on Homeland Security was extremely critical of the department's decision to abandon negotiations without first consulting with Congress. She says without Shared Border Management, congestion will worse at the Peace Bridge, costing the economies of both the US and Canada billions of dollars a year.
The Peace Bridge Authority had set a May 1st deadline for a decision so that it can proceed with its bridge expansion plans.