Report: GOP Leaders May Exclude Border Wall Funds in Next Years Budget

The creation of a border wall along our southern border continues to be something president Trump really wants to make happen.

However, a new report indicates that federal funds for Trump’s border wall may not be included in the House GOP’s budget for Fiscal Year 2017-2018.

The border wall is estimated to cost upwards of $12 billion, and House Democrats, along with a few House Republicans, are doing everything they can to ensure that funding is not factored into the GOP budget.

“With Democrats united against new wall funding, it’s unlikely the Republicans have the votes to get it through and prevent a government shutdown,” The Hill reported.

Ahead of the decision to include the funds or not, House Speaker Paul Ryan indicated that border wall funding would not be included in the GOP budget, adding that funding for that project would come later on down the road.

The two Republicans working with Democrats to block the funding are Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ), both of which represent districts that share a border with Mexico.

“We recognize the need for robust border security and infrastructure to ensure public safety and increase cross border commerce,” Hurd and McSally wrote to the Trump administration in a letter, according to The Hill.

“We also have an obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Some establishment Republicans in the Senate are also planning to block funds for Trump’s wall.

Sen. John McCain said that he worried an “anti-American sentiment” in Mexico would form and cause many problems.

Outside of Congress, immigration groups like the Federation for American Immigration (FAIR) that are in favor of Trump’s wall will be gearing up to fight to make sure we get the wall along the border.

“A physical barrier on the southern border is a necessity if our government wishes to meet its obligation to protect the sovereignty and security of the United States of America,” FAIR wrote in a report. “Besides helping stem the tide of illegal immigration, it also limits the ability of drug cartels, human traffickers, terrorists and other national security threats to access the United States from Mexico and the rest of Central and South America. Furthermore, a secure border sends the message that prospective immigrants are expected to follow the rule of law.”

Trump has suggested that even if the U.S. funds the wall, we will make our money back over time with “remittances.”

In a two-page memo to The Washington Post, Trump outlined how he would do it:

The proposal would jeopardize a stream of cash that many economists say is vital for Mexico’s struggling economy. But the feasibility of Trump’s plan is unclear both legally and politically, and it would test the bounds of a president’s executive powers in seeking to pressure another country.

In the memo, Trump said he would threaten to change a rule under the USA Patriot Act anti terrorism law to cut off a portion of the funds sent to Mexico through money transfers, commonly known as remittances. The threat would be withdrawn if Mexico made “a one-time payment of $5-10 billion” to pay for the border wall, he wrote.

58 percent of Americans are against the border wall, according to a poll released last week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Also, I thought Mexico would be paying for it?

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