WASHINGTON - Cobb Congressmen Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) and Tom Price (R-Roswell) have joined 20 other U.S. House members in urging President Bush to oppose a partnership with Mexico and Canada that some fear could lead to a North American Union.
Earlier this month, Gingrey and Price signed a two-page letter to the president outlining concerns that Congress has about the Security and Prosperity Partnership, or SPP, Bush launched with Canada and Mexico in 2005.
"The SPP process ... is being conducted in a secretive manner with a view to 'harmonizing' U.S., Canadian and Mexican policies, regulations and practices in ways that may actually undermine our security and sovereignty," the letter states.
Critics say the Bush initiative includes measures that would make it easier to move goods and people across borders and could weaken the country's ability to secure its borders and curb illegal immigration.
House members called on Bush "not to pledge any further movement in connection with the SPP at the upcoming North American Leaders Summit," which begins today in Montebello, Canada, and involves Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican president Felipe Calderon.
Among items slated for discussion is ways to advance the SPP.
"In the interest of transparency and accountability, we urge you to bring to the Congress whatever provisions have already been agreed upon and those now being pursued as part of the initiative (to obtain) authorization through the normal legislative process," the letter states.
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-East Cobb), a leading proponent for border security in the Senate, also opposes the partnership.
"The United States for over 220 years has enjoyed the freedoms and responsibilities of an independent nation. To allow our country to participate in a rumored 'North American Union' would take away our sovereignty and place an undue burden on the citizens of America, Isakson said.
"It would be a terrible mistake for the U.S. government to engage in any proposal that would diminish our independence or lessen our strength. I wholeheartedly oppose any such effort."
To bolster public scrutiny of the little known "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," leading east Cobb border security activist D.A. King has planned a rally at noon today in the Rotunda of the state Capitol in Atlanta.
King plans to outline potential threats to American sovereignty involved in the virtually unpublicized executive branch initiative. The rally is timed to coincide with Monday and Tuesday's North American Leaders Summit.
"The true intent and lack of transparency and accountability concerning the SPP should be a matter of great concern to all Americans and those in the media, King said.
"The SPP seems to closely follow the 2005 Council on Foreign Relations report titled, 'Building a North American Community,' which makes recommendations that include combining the Social Security systems of the U.S. and Mexico, and creating a common security perimeter around North America within which people would flow freely between the three nations - essentially integrated nations and open borders."
King also plans to announce formation of "Society for American Sovereignty," a recently incorporated Georgia-based national organization aimed at educating the public about consequences of the SPP and attempts to create an arrangement in North America similar to the European Union.