A GOP member put forward a bill that would give Texas $4 billion back to cover the costs they incurred in protecting the Southern Border.
The bill was introduced on Thursday by Roger Williams, a Republican from Texas. It is called the Operation Lone Star Reimbursement Act. According to the bill, it would pay back the state of Texas $3,726,400,000, which is how much Texas paid from 2020 to 2023 to make the border safe.
“The Federal Government is primarily responsible for securing the borders of the United States at and between ports of entry,” the bill says. Because the Federal Government hasn’t done anything, the State of Texas has had to keep spending money to protect the southern border of the United States.
In the bill, it was also said that Texas has been doing a lot to protect the border. They said that by working hard to stop trafficking in people, drugs, and guns by protecting the border, they have kept many Americans safe.
In 2020 and 2021, Texas spent about $800,000,000 to protect the border. In 2022 and 2023, they spent more than $2,926,400,000, which brings them to the $4 billion they’ll be getting back. Texas is planning to spend an extra $4,600,000,000 to protect the border from 2024 to 2025, according to the bill.
The bill tells Texas that it needs to send Homeland Security and the Treasury Department an application with a list of all the money it has spent over the last four years. This would make them pay back right away.
As soon as the bill is signed into law, the Treasury has 60 days to pay Texas the full amount listed in the application.
Texas has been trying to protect the border since 2020, saying that President Biden and the government have not done enough to do so.
