If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to
final passage, as amended. The National Defense Authorization Act has passed Congress 56 years
in a row, and that is a testament to the collaborative, bipartisan work
the Armed Services Committee has done to support our troops who put
themselves in harm's way every single day to defend our country. This year, the House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment
introduced by Congressman Gallego to ensure that none of the funds
meant to support our troops and safeguard our Nation's security can be
used for building President Trump's border wall. The amendment was debated, amended, and ultimately adopted without
objection by every single member of the Armed Services Committee. If you ask the people who know the border the best, whether it is
companies, lawmakers, border communities, trade groups, economists, or
law enforcement officials--both Republicans and Democrats--most agree
that building a wall is unnecessary, impractical, ineffective, and,
frankly, a complete waste of time and taxpayer money. Furthermore, the United States already maintains approximately 650
miles of border fence in areas that most effectively stop the
unauthorized entry of people, vehicles, drugs, arms, and other illicit
items. Instead of a costly border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, the
Armed Services Committee chose to fully fund military healthcare, raise
the pay of military personnel, and improve our Nation's cybersecurity. They agreed that President Trump's ongoing effort to build a wall is
wasteful and has absolutely nothing to do with advancing U.S. national
security interests. I want to emphasize that this amendment incorporated both Democratic
and Republican ideas, and passed unanimously in a bipartisan manner.
Keywords matched
border wall border fence