Congressional spending bill includes nearly $1.6 billion to pay for barrier between U.S. and Mexico
(WASHINGTON) – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a $658 billion defense spending bill. The Make America Secure Appropriations Act includes a 2.4% raise for military members and higher funding levels for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Additionally, the package provides $1.57 billion in funding for a physical wall along America’s southern border.
The bill earmarks taxpayer money to construct the wall, despite then-candidate Trump’s pledge to make Mexico pay for it. The bill passed 235-192 mostly along party lines.
As a member of the House Rules Committee, Georgia 9th District Congressman Doug Collins helped move the legislation through to the floor for a vote.
“America’s security remains the highest priority of Congress and this administration. Today, the House voted to fully fund President Trump’s budget request for construction of a border wall and to increase support that troops and veterans have been waiting on for too long,” Collins says. “This legislation also opens the door for the Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw from the Waters of the United States Rule, which would needlessly burden Georgia farmers and families.”
The Make America Secure Act includes language requested by Collins that states that the Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division–of which all northeast Corps lakes are a part–should take into account stakeholder feedback before implementing any changes to the use of non-potable water from the lakes.
The Corps attempted to put the irrigation ban in place in 2016 with little or no public notice, though the policy change would adversely affect thousands of residents living on and around Corps lakes, according to Collins.
The appropriations bill now goes to the Senate where Democrats are demanding equal increases to domestic and military spending. Congress has until October 1 to fund the government. That’s when the new fiscal year begins.
