As a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) understands the importance of keeping the federal government funded. Congress has passed five of twelve spending bills in FY19, which leaves seven bills, which are set to expire at midnight on December 21. These bills include funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency at the center of the debate regarding President Trump’s border wall.

Last January, Congressman Cuellar spoke with President Trump during a bipartisan meeting at the White House, explaining why a border wall is not an effective policy and enumerating a variety of security measures that would help strengthen operations at the U.S.-Mexico border. A year later, he still stands behind his remarks. He stated the following: 

“Last week, President Trump boasted that he would be ‘proud’ to shut down the government. Let me be clear: We cannot afford a senseless government shutdown. The last major government shutdown in 2013 cost the American economy 120,000 jobs and $24 billion. A shutdown is a wasteful disservice to the American taxpayer, who has a right to expect the government to operate uninterrupted and at full capacity.

“As I have indicated to President Trump in the past, we need effective border security. As a lifelong border resident, I speak with constituents, landowners, and law enforcement professionals regularly, and they agree that a massively expensive barrier is nothing more than a 14th Century solution to a 21st Century challenge. Congress should allocate funding towards technology, equipment, border personnel, ports of entry infrastructure, as well as security and economic development in Central America and Southern Mexico, in order to secure our border in a sensible, cost-efficient manner. 

“We need to focus on solutions that work. I strongly encourage the President to reconsider funding for the wall, and keep the government open.”

Watch Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) discuss alternatives to constructing a border wall with President Trump during a bipartisan meeting at the White House on January 9, 2018 above. Source: NowThis News