Republicans Push Bill to Restart Construction of Trump’s Border Wall; Ted Budd, Jim Banks Issue ‘Build the Wall Now Act’ to Close Gaps at Border

Republicans push bill to restart construction of Trump’s border wall:

Republicans unveiled legislation that would seek to immediately restart construction of former President Donald Trump’s signature border wall, citing unspent funds on the project aimed at halting illegal migrant crossings.

Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana and Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina led the bill, which calls for construction efforts to restart within 24 hours, the removal of all legal impediments and the unlocking of $2.1 billion in unspent funds earmarked for the project.

“This administration is letting construction materials that have already been paid for sit and rot rather than finish building President Trump’s border wall and we are all paying the price,” Mr. Banks said in a statement. “For the same reason that Joe Biden had a fence put up around his State of the Union address, we need to finish building the wall on our southern border to keep American families and communities safe.”

The bill in the House features several GOP co-sponsors, including Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and the embattled George Santos of New York.

The legislation has the potential to pass the House, but will almost certainly die in the Democratic-led Senate. —>READ MORE HERE

Ted Budd, Jim Banks Issue ‘Build the Wall Now Act’ to Close Gaps at Border:

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) have proposed the “Build the Wall Now Act” to immediately restart border wall construction and close existing gaps in the barrier.

Immediately after taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that halted all border wall construction, among other things.

The legislation would require border wall construction to begin within 24 hours of its signing into law and prohibit Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from canceling any and all contracts related to border wall construction.

“President Biden has created the worst border crisis in American history,” Budd said in a statement. “Instead of taking steps to solve this crisis, the Biden administration has tried to run out the regulatory clock on border wall construction.”

In particular, Budd and Banks said the legislation would unlock more than $2.1 billion in unspent funds that were previously appropriated to construct wall along the border and opens other previously appropriated funding to be made available until it is all spent.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are co-sponsoring the Senate version of the bill. —>READ MORE HERE

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