Texas Rep. Chip Roy Introduces Amendment To Fund Border Wall By Cutting Wasteful Spending
Texas Rep. Chip Roy is seeking to cut what he described as “wasteful spending” in the budget to resume the construction of the border wall which he said is more timely as the country continues to face “very real crisis” at the southern border.
Roy, a Republican lawmaker, wants to strip nearly $5.7 billion in allocation from the House Democrats’ surface transportation bill under the amendment he is pushing and funnel the money instead to establish a fund in the Treasury dedicated to constructing a border wall.
“Democrats included nearly $5.7 billion in corrupt earmarks in the surface transportation measure that is expected to receive a vote this week in the House. Instead of using federal taxpayer dollars to fund pet projects like electric vehicle charging networks in California and million-dollar sidewalk expansions in Connecticut, Congress should redirect these funds to address the ongoing and very real crisis at our southern border,” Roy said.
Rep. Chip Roy: "Our border is wide open between the ports of entry because the border patrol is processing people at processing centers in McAllen. The vice president would know that if she hadn't missed the mark by 750 miles." https://t.co/KvzLxl64do pic.twitter.com/pcUrHvRk08
— The Hill (@thehill) June 29, 2021
“Currently, primary, and secondary barriers cover only 771 miles of our nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, and the Rio Grande Valley sector — the busiest migrant crossing area — is wide open with only 76 miles of border wall to cover the river. My amendment would strike every single earmark from this legislation and instead authorize a $5.7 billion Border Wall Fund in the Treasury to support the completion of a border wall in the U.S.-Mexico border,” he added.
His proposal read in part: “Obligation authority made available under this paragraph shall remain available until September 30, 2025; and be in addition to the amount of any limitation imposed on obligations for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for fiscal year 2022 under section 102 or future fiscal years under any other provision of law,” the amendment to the INVEST in America Act reads in part.”
He added that a fund in the Treasury — to be known as the ‘Border Wall Fund” — will then be established.
“Funds provided into the Border Wall Fund may be used for the sole purpose of completing a border wall on the United States Mexico border,” it adds.
Roy has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s response to the persisting immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border with his congressional district encompassing portions of San Antonio near the border.
Recently he even went on to question the point of Texas maintaining its ties in the Union when the federal government under Democrat President Joe Biden is refusing to address the deteriorating situation at the southern border.
Chip Roy: Texans Wondering What Good Is It To Be Part Of ‘A Union That Won’t Secure Its Own Border’ https://t.co/oElZgmvw2d pic.twitter.com/8FUs49tlog
— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 27, 2021
“Every state in the union should send resources to the state of Texas to help us secure the border because, dadgummit, Texas is going to secure this border if the United States of America is failing to uphold its end of the bargain of our having a union,” Roy told The Daily Caller News on Friday.
“I’ve got people in Texas that are starting to rattle about ‘what are we getting out of this equation? What are we getting out of being a part of a union that won’t secure its own border?’” he continued. “You know what — it’s our border, too,” he ranted.
Roy continued: Texas has “a duty as a state, as a sovereign people, to defend ourselves.”
“The first duty of the government — to secure the people” and to “take care of our communities,” he added.
In May, Roy challenged Vice President Kamala Harris to a border debate after she failed to appear at the border despite being responsible for dealing with the situation.
“I’ve spent a lot of time, as you know, on the border of the United States, unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, who can’t find the border on a map apparently. And by the way, I’ve said to the vice president, since she refuses to go to the border, I will debate her or the president anywhere, anytime they choose to on border issues.”
“They’re burying their heads in the sand,” Roy commented of the Biden administration’s response to the border crisis.
“They’re endangering Texans, they’re endangering migrants.
On Friday, Harris finally visited the border — an El Paso border facility — nearly 100 days after being appointed by Biden to head the government’s response to the immigration crisis.
Clueless in El Paso: Why Kamala's photo-op trip to the border won't do much to slow the waves of migrants https://t.co/yLmEBIcLeF via @nypost
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 26, 2021
She was criticized, however, for not visiting areas that have been more impacted by the wave of illegal immigration, like the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is set to visit the southern border this week, just days after Harris’ trip.
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