Re: the Sept. 3 editorial on Houston, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the border wall: You could not be more off the mark.

Americans, as always, have come together in the relief effort in so many ways. The charitable donations, the heroic “Cajun Navy” and the influx of volunteers from around the country are truly remarkable. Then again, they aren’t. It’s our instinctive response to anyone in need, from here to Singapore.

Inasmuch as it means well, FEMA is largely irrelevant. It’s also unconstitutional. Nowhere is the federal government given the power to take taxes from the people of Maine to give to 200,000 unfortunate souls who failed to insure their homes. FEMA is an old, clunky organization borne out of good will but ineffective when compared to the Red Cross and National Guard. Defund it.

With regard to the wall: It was already approved and funded in 2006 with the Secure Fence Act. It passed 80-19, with “yea” votes from Sens. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden and Barack Obama. It appropriated $50 billion over 25 years for the construction and maintenance of a 700-mile wall on our border with Mexico.

The statement “where walls … have already been built … they haven’t worked well” has been proven untrue across the world. Mexico’s bristling wall on its border with Guatemala is nearly impenetrable. Macedonia recently built a wall to stem the flood of migrants, and Poland has always had a wall (and no terrorism to speak of). In southern Kandahar, we dug a trench – it worked. The wall is the first part of comprehensive immigration reform, along with visa reform and e-verify. All are needed to work in conjunction with each other.

Lastly, “climate change” had nothing to do with the damage Harvey caused. The storm stayed put for days – highly unusual, but not a result of anything but bad luck.

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