Bob Filner: “I believe that the economic development on both sides of the border is the key for us getting control of that border…”

“I believe that the economic development on both sides of the border is the key for us getting control of that border, and this is a cooperative venture between two nations that would actually raise the quality of life for working people in my district, in the gentleman's district, in Mexico, and, in fact, in many communities around our region. This is what we should be doing. Yes, let us study the possible effects on the drug trade; yes, let us study the possible consequences of banditry, but let us not be scared off. I mean I see the gentleman from California [Mr. Dornan] standing beside the gentleman. He can tell us that if Americans were scared off in making this country economically beneficial by threats of banditry or by letting a few people scare us off from making economic gains, then we would not be the country we are today. That is what this railroad is all about. Let us make the economic development of this border area really work, and I look forward to working with the gentleman to do that.”