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WASHINGTON — U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman emeritus and current vice chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, announced the House passage of a provision reimbursing border states — primarily Texas — with $12 billion for costs incurred to secure the border under the Biden administration. McCaul has championed the provision and advocated for its passage for months, working hand-in-hand with House GOP leadership and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.).
“It’s the federal government’s job to secure the homeland, yet the Biden/Harris administration abdicated its duty and abandoned our states on the frontlines of the border crisis. As Texans know, our state bore the brunt of that abject failure, both societally and financially,” said Vice Chairman McCaul. “Four years of chaos and suffering later, Congress is doing the right thing: paying Texas back. I’m extremely proud to have helped secure this provision, which sends a strong message to our border states that America has not forgotten the sacrifices they made. With these funds, Congress says ‘thank you’ — both to Texas’ leadership, who stood up Operation Lone Star to fill in the gap, and to Texas’ taxpayers, who should never have been on the hook for President Biden’s dereliction of duty.”
“Thanks to Rep. McCaul, states that stepped up to protect Americans in the face of Biden’s border catastrophe will be reimbursed for doing the work the Biden Administration refused to do,” said Speaker Mike Johnson. “Had those patriotic governors not taken action and used the resources of their state, the devastation from Biden’s wide-open border would have been significantly worse. Our nation is safer because of these states, and it’s only right for the federal government to share in the costs states incurred while protecting America “Texas thanks the U.S. House and the Texas Congressional Delegation for including $12 billion in the reconciliation package that will help Texas in its response to the unprecedented illegal immigration in Texas,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “This is a national issue that Texas was proud to address, and we are grateful for the allocation that reduces the financial burden that Texas incurred.”
“Lurking behind the staggering number of illegal encounters of the last four years is the immeasurable toll a wide-open border has exacted on communities across the country,” said Chairman Mark Green. “Every state became a border state under the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies, but in many ways, the communities along the Southwest border have been hit the hardest and have incurred tremendous law enforcement costs. In the absence of help from the Biden-Harris administration, states were forced to take extraordinary measures to mitigate the crisis and protect their communities by building barrier systems and increasing law enforcement activity. I applaud the inclusion of this funding and the House’s passage of the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ to put Americans first and keep our sovereign borders secure for years to come.”
The provision, which was added to House Republican’s reconciliation package through a manager’s amendment, sets aside $12 billion in grants for states’ “costs associated with actions taken after January 21, 2021, to assist the federal border security missions.”
Most of these funds are expected to reimburse Texas, as no state did more to secure the border over the past four years. Operation Lone Star spent $11.1 billion on border security, including $5.87 billion on personnel costs associated with border security and $4.75 billion on border wall barriers.
