Press Releases

Congressman Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-Ga.) voted against the partisan emergency border funding bill brought to a vote by House Democrats today. The legislation fails to properly address the humanitarian and security crisis at the border and will not be signed into law by President Donald Trump. 

"President Trump requested emergency funding to address the crisis at our southern border more than 50 days ago," said Carter. "Since then, House Democrats have blocked attempts to provide this critical assistance time and time again and decided to bring an inadequate bill to the House floor today that not only fails to address the crisis, but even makes the situation worse. Instead of playing politics with those who are in the middle of the chaos at the border, let's put forward a bipartisan solution that works to secure the border, ensures our law enforcement officers working around the clock have what they need and delivers humanitarian assistance. The crisis at the border is real and there is no more time to waste, especially on a bill that we know is already dead on arrival."

According to the House Appropriations Committee, the funding legislation:

• limits the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to surge employees to the border;
• cuts overtime payments for exhausted officers;
• provides no funds to investigate human traffickers smuggling unrelated children across the border;
• includes no funds to support active duty and National Guard personnel who are deployed to the border in support of Customs and Border Patrol operations;
• does not support immigration judge teams, courtrooms and equipment;
• restricts the Department of Health and Human Services from modifying agency policies related to sponsors of unaccompanied alien children, even if such modifications could improve child welfare; 
• forces the State Department to spend funds in Central American countries even if the countries are not working to stop migration to the United States.