McSally, Gallego target cartel lookouts, veteran debt
Arizona's congressional freshmen didn't plan to synchronize, but the two introduced their first bills Tuesday.
Republican U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, whose district runs along the U.S.-Mexico border, partnered with fellow Republican and veteran U.S. Sen. John McCain on legislation that would crack down on people who serve as desert lookouts for cartels smuggling people and drugs.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a veteran who fought in Iraq, joined U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., in aiming to reduce the student-loan burden on disabled military veterans.
Though neither of the bipartisan bills would make sweeping changes, the lawmakers signal top priorities for their first terms by introducing them. The proposals could gain traction, especially if House leaders see them as non-controversial and bring them up for a vote or tuck them into larger bills advancing through the Republican-led chamber.
McSally's bill would specify penalties for "spotters" who camp in the desert and provide information to cartels about the U.S. Border Patrol's movements. Prosecutors would be able to seek steeper fines and a maximum prison time of 10 years under the legislation.
Few "spotters" have been convicted. Lookouts often escape into the vast terrain. And when they are caught, prosecutors say they have few ways to charge them since they don't usually carry drugs.
"To find and catch them is the first challenge," McSally told The Arizona Republic. "Unless (law enforcement) can connect them with a specific bust, they're not able to prosecute them."
On McSally's trips to the border, she says officers and ranchers have pointed to areas favored by spotters — typically remote mountains and hilltops that provide a wide range of view — but the groups didn't see any of the lookouts at work.
"I would have gone after them myself," she laughed. "Let's go get 'em!"
The operations are increasingly sophisticated, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday. Introduction of the legislation was timed to coincide with the hearing.
The scouts wear camouflage and padded boots to avoid leaving tracks, McCaffrey said. They carry AK-47s and solar-powered phones that are encrypted so law enforcement can't listen in.
"That's who is in control of the border," McCaffrey said, warning that some residents concerned about the lookouts "have come to hate their government for not protecting them."
Arizona's four other Republican representatives and Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema co-sponsored the bill.
If Gallego's legislation is successful, veterans who have a total disability would receive the same treatment as other public servants whose student-loan debt is forgiven. Currently, such veterans must pay taxes on discharged debt over $600, even as some other people including teachers may not have to.
Gallego said in a statement that given the sacrifices veterans make "we should stand behind them and their families during difficult times and help safeguard them from such an unfair and unexpected financial situation."
It's unclear how much disabled veterans would save or how much revenue the federal government would lose because each case is different, Gallego's spokeswoman said.
But the cost is likely limited because only a small group would be affected, said Ben Miller, a senior policy analyst for higher-education policy at New America, a nonpartisan Washington think tank.
The legislation would help to even the playing field, Miller said.
"Right now there's a broader problem with inconsistency in how student-loan forgiveness is or is not taxed," Miller said. "Hitting a disabled vet with a tax bill, after we already know they can't pay the loan, undercuts the benefit they got."
Source: Rebekah L. Sanders and Bill Theobald, The Arizona Republic