Tucson.com:
Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake vowed Friday to keep working to alleviate border banking issues and push for immigration-law change.
In a joint appearance hosted by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, McCain said he is continuing to work with border community officials and banks to improve banking access.
Some major banks have closed accounts of some companies doing cross-border business, and in some cases left the border market, amid fears over penalties they could face due to stepped-up U.S. enforcement of money-laundering laws. That has left many companies without critical banking services.
McCain said he had the CEO of banking giant Citigroup in his office recently and asked him for a letter explaining “what changes need to be made to enforce the laws while giving access to banking services.”
McCain and Flake have called for hearings on the banking issue and have met with regulators on the issue. Flake said he expects the Senate will hold a hearing on the issue soon.
The two Republican senators also reiterated their support for comprehensive changes in immigration laws.
Flake recalled that in his freshman year as a senator in 2013, McCain persuaded him to join the immigration-law push by a group including McCain and other Republicans and Democrats, who came to be known as the “Gang of Eight.”
“When I got to the Senate two years ago, Senator McCain convinced me to join a gang,” Flake quipped, adding that he felt the legislation — which included a path to citizenship and other provisions opposed by many Republicans — was a step in the right direction.
“We felt we moved the ball forward, but the House didn’t pick it up,” he said. Flake said President Obama’s “piecemeal” executive orders on immigration have made comprehensive change more difficult.
McCain said immigration legislation is badly needed and would provide a much-needed boost to Arizona’s economy.
“We need to help all these young people to work and save and improve their lives. … We need to give the 11 million people here a path to citizenship,” McCain said. “I think this would have a dramatic impact on our economy.”
On other issues, both senators pledged to keep pressure on the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve services after revelations that some vets had died waiting for care at a VA hospital in Phoenix, and to support Arizona military installations amid looming cuts to the defense budget.
Earlier in the day, Flake spoke at a round table hosted by the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. McCain and Rep. Martha McSally, R-Tucson, attended an invitation-only event recognizing Arizona’s contributions to U.S. missile defense hosted by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
