Rep. Torres Rejects Border Wall Funding
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Congress voted this week on legislation that bound national security funding with money for a wall on our southern border and immigrant detention centers.
The National Security Appropriations Minibus (H.R. 1158) includes four appropriations bills: Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Financial Services and General Government, and Homeland Security.
Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) released the following statement after voting against the measure:
"My responsibility as a legislator and an appropriator is not just to ensure the worthy functions of the federal government are funded, but also to ensure that wasteful and foolish provisions are not," Rep. Torres said. "HR 1158 provides funding for President Trump's absurd border wall, and it allows him to poach funding from other military priorities at a whim whenever wall resources run low. I cannot in good faith give this president a blank check for a bad idea, especially when it will come at the expense of so many other priorities that the American people need and care about."
H.R. 1158, which also maintains funding for immigrant detention centers, comes on the heels of the seventh child fatality at a facility this year.
"This bill also funds our immigrant detention centers at a time when the American people are seeing news report after news report of children dying from neglect and malnourishment in our custody," Rep. Torres continued. "Until we can prove ourselves to be good stewards of the innocent lives housed in these facilities, I will not vote to fund them."
Congresswoman Norma Torres sits on the House Appropriations and House Rules Committees.
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