ICYMI: House Budget Chairman Arrington Presses Biden Administration Over Wasteful Border Spending
Last week, Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) sent a follow-up letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers about how congressionally appropriated funds for the border wall are being used. The letter, first reported by the Daily Caller, calls for transparency on President Biden’s border policies.
Word on the Street via the Daily Caller:
- "The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the letter, which calls for specific answers to several questions regarding spending at the southern border and where specifically certain funds will go to prevent the flow of illegal immigration. Arrington also asks for the total cost of transporting, housing, relocating, and releasing illegal aliens in DHS custody and how much funding DHS has disbursed to non-profits to house, feed and transport illegal aliens."
- “Arrington originally asked for answers to these questions in September, but the committee did not receive a response by his Sept. 30 deadline.”
- “’The American people deserve to know just how much President Biden’s failed border policies are costing them. The House Budget Committee has repeatedly sought specific information from Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security regarding the cost of these open-border policies to taxpayers,’ Arrington told the Caller before sending the letter.”
- “The Committee has a responsibility to ‘assess OMB’s legal authorities to manage federal spending.’ The documents and materials requested by the Committee will inform its review of the fiscal impact of the Biden Administration’s border policies and assist the Committee in making the legislative judgments required as part of the federal budget process.”
The Bottom Line:
The Biden Administration’s immigration policies have created a self-inflicted national security and humanitarian crisis. The American people deserve to know the true fiscal cost of these policies. Chairman Arrington and the House Budget Committee are demanding transparency from the Administration on how U.S. tax dollars are being used — or not used — at our Southwest border. Failure to provide Congress with the requested information, as statutorily required, will be met with further mandated action.
Click here to read all of the Chairman’s requests.
