Opinion | It has been reported that two Texas statehouse members are to introduce new legislation to fund President Trump’s border wall between the United States and Mexico, more specifically along the border of Texas.
Breitbart reports:
State Reps. Kyle Biedermann and Briscoe Cain intend to introduce legislation soon that would fund $2.5 billion of wall construction along the Texas border with Mexico, appropriating it from the economic stabilization fund for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2019. The funds would be used, Biedermann tells Breitbart News, “to design, test, construct, and install physical barriers, roads, and technology along the international land border between the State of Texas and Mexico to prevent illegal crossings in all areas.”
Preference for the contracts and awarding of bids, Biedermann added, “for all phases of construction” would be given to Texans and Texas-owned entities.
The idea has not been tested, but since Republicans have control over the Texas statehouse, and the fact that Trump has the support of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, it seems that this plan could work.
The plan is being revealed as Trump makes his way to El Paso this week, where he held a rally in the same town that former Democratic Representative Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke lost the 2018 Democratic Senate race.
O’Rourke, who is considering running for President in 2020, held a counter-rally… drawing only 65 people.
Breitbart explains that this new legislation “also comes as negotiators on Capitol Hill in Washington, just five days before Friday’s deadline, have reportedly reached an impasse in negotiations over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other government agencies totaling about a quarter of the federal government. Just a few weeks ago, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history — which started at the end of last year and dragged into this year lasting more than a month — ended after Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks to allow negotiators in Congress to attempt to reach a deal.”
The House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Democrats, and run by California Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, doesn’t want to give a dime towards funding a border wall. Over almost three weeks, Republicans and Democrats have not been successful in coming to an agreement on a monetary amount for the wall. If no agreement is reached, the government will temporarily shut down again on Friday.
Breitbart explains:
Trump used his State of the Union Address last week to make the case for the wall, and he has also used an Oval Office address and the full bully pulpit power of the presidency to fight for extra border security measures including additional physical barriers. Part of the reason why he is heading to El Paso on Monday is to showcase how the border city has seen a decrease in unlawful crossings from Mexico since a barrier was built there.
Trump is expected to make the case for improving and repairing existing walls or barriers along the border and building new barriers wherever they are needed.
If Congress refuses President Trump’s request for a wall and does not provide funding for it, Trump can use other methods — like declaring a national emergency or turning to the states like Texas for help with an idea like Biedermann’s and Cain’s forthcoming plan — to get the wall built.