Grassley Joins Ernst On New Bill Allowing States To Continue Border Wall Construction

Press Release

As President Biden's historic southern border crisis rages on due to his weak policies and refusal to secure the border, taxpayers might be interested to know they are footing the bill -- to the tune of at least $3 million per day -- for the protection of materials that were meant for a barrier at our southern border. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) to propose a new measure, the BUILD IT Act, which would transfer the unused materials purchased to construct the southern border barrier to any state wishing to finish the job.

"President Biden has made a laundry list of irresponsible policy decisions that have led to complete chaos at our southern border, including his decision to halt construction of the border wall. This has not only cost taxpayers safety and security, but it's also costing them nearly $3 million per day," Grassley said. "We are a welcoming nation, but a country without a border isn't a country. Our bill will allow states to take an important step toward fixing this unprecedented border crisis by continuing construction of a border wall."

Since President Biden's order to cease construction of the southern border barrier went into effect, the federal government began paying contractors over $3 million a day to look over unused border material, according to a report by the Minority Staff of the Government Operations and Border Management (GOBM) Subcommittee, a part of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. It is estimated that roughly one quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer-funded materials are sitting on our southern border.

The BUILD IT Act would require the federal government to transfer any material associated with the construction of the southern border barrier to any state, upon request, for the materials' original purpose. Both Arizona and Texas have initiated state action to continue construction on their sections of the border wall.

The BUILD IT Act has the support of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and is also cosponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.).

Recently, as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Grassley has pushed for a hearing on the potential consequences of the Biden administration's effort to rescind Title 42. Grassley has criticized Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to put forward an effective plan to deal with the border crisis if Title 42 was rescinded, and he applauded a federal judge's recent decision to block Biden from rolling back the policy.

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