Republican lawmaker introduces bill to continue border wall construction

Dive Brief:

• U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, Republican from Louisiana and rating member of the Property Homeland Stability Subcommittee on Border Stability, announced he is introducing the End the Wall Act, which would drive President Joe Biden’s administration to restart building of the border wall in between the United States and Mexico.
• Among other items, the act would see the resumption of border wall building within 24 hours of its enactment avert the Section of Homeland Stability from canceling border wall design contracts and involve that the DHS shell out all resources appropriated or obligated to border wall building due to the fact 2017.
• The monthly bill, in accordance to Higgins’ press release, has more than 60 co-sponsors and is a person of Household Republicans’ “5 pillars” similar to immigration at the southern border. Higgins mentioned that by stopping function on the border wall, the Biden administration has “produced huge protection gaps, ended hundreds of design employment, violated signed contracts and remaining at the rear of substantial stockpiles of significant-quality steel stacked on non-public land and unused.”

Dive Insight:

About 172,000 migrants were being apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border last month, the most in two decades, Bloomberg stories. They are drawn to the U.S. by the guarantee of do the job and balance in an economic climate envisioned to explode with submit-pandemic chances, and an administration promising much more humane therapy after the harsher Donald Trump decades.

Rep. Higgins’ act would also demand the DHS secretary to submit a approach to Congress outlining benchmarks for actual physical obstacles, know-how, streets and lights.

It contradicts the border wall components in the $1.5 trillion discretionary funding request Biden sent to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee previously this month. The White Household did not check with for any new border wall building funding and wishes any unobligated border wall cash to be canceled. From 2018 to 2021, Congress allocated $1.4 billion for wall tasks, together with fix and substitute. The president did, nonetheless, request for $1.2 billion for technological innovation and other non-building projects at the border.

The measure also contradicts Biden’s January government buy that necessary construction at the border to prevent until eventually federal agencies had a prospect to evaluate border wall position and determine how the administration will carry on with contracts by now underway. The White Home has not however announced if those people in-progress initiatives will proceed.

The Senate has also pushed back in opposition to Biden’s border coverage by asking the U.S. Government Accountability Office environment Comptroller Gene L. Dodaro to offer a lawful opinion as to no matter if Biden violated the Impoundment Regulate Act by halting design. The act prohibits a president from withholding revenue obligated by Congress.

At minimum just one lawmaker in Texas, while, is ready to see the condition choose on the job of border wall building. Republican Texas Property Rep. Bryan Slaton’s monthly bill would build a unique fund that would spend for all features of site scheduling, design and development. On the other hand, Texas would search for reimbursement from the federal authorities.