Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Introduces Last Bill Before Stepping Down

WASHINGTON -- Two days before resigning from Congress, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Tuesday announced her final piece of legislation aimed at cracking down on cross-border drug smugglers.

Giffords, who is stepping down to focus on her recovery from the January 2011 Tucson shootings that nearly took her life, said the bill would impose new penalties on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to illegally bring drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The bill is set for a House vote on Wednesday morning, according to Giffords' office, and the congresswoman will be there to vote on it as her last official act as a member of Congress.

Giffords introduced the bill on Monday with fellow Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake (R). The bill is a version of legislation that Giffords introduced in 2010 that overwhelmingly passed the House on a 412-3 vote, but it never made it out of that session of Congress. An aide to Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), who introduced Giffords' bill in the Senate the last time, said he is working with Senate leadership to make sure Giffords' latest bill "is wired for passage" when it comes over from the House this time.

"Congresswoman Giffords is committed to taking this crucial step that would help secure the border against drug smugglers," Giffords' chief of staff Pia Carusone said in a statement. "That's why she decided this would be the last bill she introduces before she steps down."

Giffords released a video on Sunday announcing her decision to resign from Congress. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a close friend of Giffords', said Giffords had been thinking about stepping down "for a while," but it was notuntil she returned to Tucson for the anniversary of the Jan. 8 shootings that her decision "came into focus."

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[whochi]

12:50 PM on 01/25/2012

So, '....new penalties..' (to replace the 'new now old penalties', that get passed every election cycle but never work)... are going to put a dent in the drug traffic taking place on the borders. What a sad way to leave the House of Representatives.

Maybe with some more therpy she will regain 100% of her faculties.

[Steven Hymowitz]

10:44 AM on 01/25/2012

Everybody comments like they know this person. Have not anybody learned that you really do not know any of these people..What they present publicly has no relation to who they really are.I'm not saying some politicians are who they say, but we have no way of knowing. Sometimes you do not even no somebody close to you. People thought Sandusky was a great guy too. He was helping children with Charities.You spend more time on improving your life instead of thinking about these people..They don't give a crap about you..

[Frank Sigotle]

10:39 AM on 01/25/2012

She looks great, better every time I see her. A true miracle..

[Frank Sigotle]

10:33 AM on 01/25/2012

Cant pass that, that would be racial descrimination on the Mexicans right? Isnt that par with Obama's DOJ?

[JubalTHarshaw]

09:26 AM on 01/25/2012

While Ms. Giffords personal tragedy and recovery is a story that tugs at the heart strings of every decent American, it does nothing to improve the nature and quality of yet another "feel good" bit of legislation that ignores the harsh reality that The War On Drugs is an abject failure. One has to wonder what it about the lessons that we learned from Prohibition that are so difficult for our elected officials to comprehend. Everyone in America who wants drugs is getting drugs. The consumer cost of drugs hasn't kept pace with inflation for decades. The drug trade is run by people with little concern for death let alone incarceration because the profit margin guarantees a dozen if not a hundred people ready to step into the shoes of anyone who is caught, killed or convicted. We have created an artificial profit that generates so much money that massive losses are simply factored in as a cost of doing business. Drug usage remains one of the great third rails of American politics. We have flushed enough money down the drain pretending to deal with this issue.

[speedydan79]

10:01 AM on 01/25/2012

Wow, you're really desperate to get your personal issue into the conversation no matter how unrelated. The comparison of illegal drugs with Prohibition is far-fetched. The marijuana lobby has made little headway. There is absolutely no support for legalizing other controled substances. "Third rail?" You must be on something, because your priorities are quite out of the mainstream.

[JubalTHarshaw]

10:42 AM on 01/25/2012

"“Giffords, who is stepping down to focus on her recovery from the January 2011 Tucson shootings that nearly took her life, said the bill would impose new penalties on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to illegally bring drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border." In what way was my comment "off point?" If you think that the War on Drugs has been a success you are sadly mistaken. I made my point succinctly; if you think otherwise, fine. The comparison to Prohibition is so obvious even a politician understands it. The "third rail" is the reality that they know it isn't working but it would be political suicide to admit it.

[johnkostrubal]

07:50 AM on 01/25/2012

More political B.S. . If the U.S. and Mexican governments were serious about the :Drug War", we would already have eliminated the Jungle Labs and Plantations that grow the drugs, abd our border would have been completely secured by now .
But the Drug Trade has flurished . Nations like Columbia, Chile Paraquay and Venezeula use Mexico as a cross over to the U.S. .
Even Radical Muslim groups have gotten into the act, trading Weapons and Money for drugs .

[kizzi1916]

12:18 AM on 01/25/2012

Gabby looks great!! Now that she has made the decision to step down from her office, she won't have all the associated pressure and, hopefully, attention to her medical status and routine can continue at an even more relaxed pace, with less calls for public appearances and performance.
Not only is she a fighter, but it's obvious that she is receiving excellent treatment - physical, mental, psychological - at all levels, by some of the best professionals in the world.

[Steven Hymowitz]

10:51 AM on 01/25/2012

How do you know anything you just said? Do you know her? Do you know her doctor? Have you seen her medical reports.

[kizzi1916]

03:44 PM on 01/25/2012

How old are you? What is it about my compliments and admmiration of Gabby that disturbs you? Do I have to be personally acquainted with her to know that the gunshot to her head left her severely disabled? Do I have to be acquainted with her doctor and see her medical records to know that she has survived trauma that most do not? Do I have to be present in the facilities to know that Gabby has and is still receiving excellent medical care? What offends you most - my compliments or her survival?

[Ember Firedog]

11:44 PM on 01/24/2012

Courageous lady. We hope you experience a full recovery and we wish you the best. The good people like you are the ones we miss the most.

[Steven Hymowitz]

10:51 AM on 01/25/2012

How do you know she is a couragous lady? Do you know her personally?

[Ante Jutronic]

11:32 PM on 01/24/2012

What kind of husband does she have?
I would never let my wife go back to work with serious brain damage!
Get to work, get extra hours, get two jobs, you pimp!

[Spacecowboy64]

12:03 AM on 01/25/2012

Interesting view point.

[willrothfuss]

12:22 AM on 01/25/2012

She's not going back to work, She's resigning. This is her symbolic last act in congress. Her husband is an astronaut. He has been by her side during her entire recovery. He's been an exemplary husband, in fact.

[joecan1]

11:31 PM on 01/24/2012

Gabby, you sure look great. But I'd like to tell you how sorry we are to lose you as our representative, but we understand and wish you the best.

[badwolf62]

11:28 PM on 01/24/2012

so long for now you caurageous lady. Heal and come back stronger this country needs you and all people like you.

[Skypilotbaby]

11:04 PM on 01/24/2012

GABBY, You sweetie, if I may, are so awesome, so totally awesome. You and your husband are AWESOME.

Nessus

[Beatriz09]

10:56 PM on 01/24/2012

I'm sooooooo sad that she's stepping down. It shows that she'll still have to suffer a lot before fully recovering, if a full recovering is still possible. Her last bill a bipartisan bill, and that's absolutely wonderful. It's also wonderful to see how she smiled at Obama when he greets her. And then you see her right arm not being in a normal position, and you realize that she still has a long way to go ...

Gabby Giffords, a TRUE patriot.

Go Gabby!

[I think I think]

10:55 PM on 01/24/2012

Way to go Gabby. You have done us proud. Godspeed.

[SNAAPER SNAP]

10:35 PM on 01/24/2012

A more fitting bill to crack down on smugglers and stop the imprisonment of harmless people would be to legalize pot.

[JubalTHarshaw]

09:29 AM on 01/25/2012

Shhhh... Next people will start noticing that The War On Drugs has been an costly failure that made a lot of people rich without accomplishing anything other than making crack cocaine more accessible than pot...