WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) voted against House Democrats’ border appropriations bill, which underfunded necessary operations and included provisions that would exacerbate the border crisis.
On June 3, Homeland Security Ranking Member Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Congressman Higgins introduced H.R. 3056, the Border Crisis Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019, which funds President Trump’s request for $4.5 billion in humanitarian border aid. House Democrats blocked consideration of the humanitarian aid bill 18 times.
After spending months refusing to act and denying that a crisis existed on the southern border, House Democrats finally introduced a competing bill this week. Unlike the bill being advanced in the Senate, which has bipartisan support, the legislation being pushed by House Democrats is entirely partisan and makes our country less safe. House Democrats’ bill:
- Restricts DHS’ authority to assign employees to help address the surge along the border,
- Does not include funding for Immigration & Customs Enforcement pay shortfalls or overtime,
- Blocks funding to investigate human traffickers smuggling unrelated children,
- Imposes strict conditions on HHS and reduces the Administration’s flexibility to respond to the crisis.
- Does not include funding for Department of Defense operational support on the border,
- Does not provide additional funding to the Department of Justice and fails to address immigration court backlogs.
Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:
“The House Democrats’ bill is purposefully designed to further divide America. They want America as we know it to fail, whereby… in their bizarre and dangerous vision for America… our nation turns to massive taxation, redistribution of wealth and total socialist control. For many months, Speaker Pelosi stated that the border crisis didn’t exist. Democrats refused to take action despite the clear fact that they all knew the crisis was very, very real. They stood by, as conditions deteriorated. Now, House Democrats are further delaying emergency funds and preventing border agents from safely and humanely carrying out their mission. They’ve blocked my Border Security Bill 18 times. Now, Speaker Pelosi should stand up to the radical socialist wing of her party and allow the House to immediately consider the Senate’s emergency border funding bill. While the Senate package isn’t perfect, it represents a legitimate compromise and allows DHS and HHS to address urgent funding needs. Long term, we need serious asylum reform and an all-of-the-above security strategy to fully address the border crisis.”
