House Passes Legislation to Address the Southwest Border Crisis
Washington,
Aug 1 -
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers today applauded House passage of legislation to provide funding to address the current immigration crisis on the Southwestern border.The bill, H.R. 5230, contains a total of $694 million for border security, enforcement of immigration and customs laws, humanitarian assistance, and illegal immigration prevention. This funding is targeted to meet the immediate needs surrounding the current border crisis, and will be sufficient to cover the estimated costs of these activities for the rest of the 2014 fiscal year. The legislation is fully offset through cuts and rescissions of existing funds within federal agencies, and will result in no new or additional federal spending.
Chairman Rogers issued the following statement on the bill:
“Thousands of illegal immigrants have flooded our borders and overwhelmed our current facilities and personnel. This includes a staggering number of children – arriving with no family – who are being smuggled across our borders by criminal organizations, subject to violence and abuse. We need to put safeguards in place to prevent them from taking this dangerous journey, as well as provide the resources needed to take care of them and process them appropriately.
“The President must take the lead on this by mitigating this crisis, turning back the tide of illegal immigrants, and fully enforcing our laws. In the meantime, however, this bill will help our law enforcement personnel and federal agencies deal with this dire situation in the short term by providing $659 million in funding for border security, humanitarian assistance, and prevention to meet the most urgent needs. This funding is fully offset, and will not add a penny to our deficit.
“This is a good bill that will help address our immediate crisis, while putting into place much needed policy changes to strengthen our borders and stem the rising tide of illegal immigration. I applaud its passage today.”
For a bill summary, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=389562
For the bill text, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/07.29.14_FY_2014_Supplemental_Appropriations_Bill.pdf
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