WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) introduced the Build the Wall Now Act, which requires border wall reconstruction to restart within 24 hours of the bill being signed into law, removes legal impediments to construction, and unlocks $2.1 billion in federal funding that was previously allocated for wall construction.
“Border walls work. It successfully deters illegal immigration and helps reduce the flow of deadly illegal drugs, like fentanyl, from flowing freely into the U.S. But that didn’t stop President Biden from halting the construction of the southern border wall. With the Build the Wall Now Act, the remaining $2.1 billion already approved and allocated by Congress will finally be used for its intended purpose, the completion of the southern border wall. This commonsense measure is a critical step Congress can take to reverse President Biden’s disastrous failures to keep our border secure,” said Risch.
“Under President Biden, there have been the most illegal border crossings in U.S. history. This is alarming and intolerable. With those illegal crossings, we have seen record levels of lethal fentanyl flowing into our communities, killing our nation’s young adults at tragic rates. We must protect our national security and secure our border now in order to ensure the safety of American citizens,” said Crapo
“President Biden has created the worst border crisis in American history. Instead of taking steps to solve this crisis, the Biden administration has tried to run out the regulatory clock on border wall construction. The Build the Wall Now Act ends this administration's excuses and forces them to restart wall construction immediately. It’s time for a comprehensive solution to end the Biden Border Crisis, and this bill does just that,” said Budd.
The House version of the bill is led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN).
The bill is supported by the National Border Patrol Council, Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA, and Heritage Action for America.
Read the full text of the bill HERE .
The Build the Wall Now Act would:
- Require border wall construction to restart within 24 hours.
- Prohibit the Secretary from canceling any of the contracts related to border wall construction.
- Require the Secretary to uphold all negotiated border wall agreements.
- Make previously appropriated funds for the border wall available until they are spent, so the funding will not expire.
- Unlock over $2.1 billion in unspent funding for the border wall by codifying all Trump administration waivers used to speed up construction.
- Require DHS to consult with the National Border Patrol Council on initiatives to increase agent safety.
Background:
On President Biden’s first day in office, he signed Presidential Proclamation 10142 that paused all funding for the border wall. After pressure from 71 members of the House and Senate, the Government Accountability Office ruled that this was not a permanent impoundment, but rather a “programmatic delay.” The Biden administration claimed this delay will be used to conduct additional environmental and Endangered Species Act reviews that had been waived by the Trump administration.
Congress appropriated approximately $6 billion for border wall construction from 2018–2021 and $2.1 billion remains unspent. The appropriations for border wall funding are only available for five years. Therefore, if these reviews take more than five years, the border wall funds previously appropriated will expire.
Section 102(c)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to “waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary’s sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads” at the border.
The Trump Administration used this authority to waive 50 different provisions of law to speed up border construction.
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