House committee approves legislation with $10B in border wall funding
Oct 4, 2017, 6:09 PM
FILE - In this June 13, 2013 file photo, hands from Daniel Zambrano of Tijuana, Mexico, hold on to the bars that make up the border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico as the border meets the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. The federal government said Tuesday, Sept. 26, 20127, that contractors began building eight prototypes of President Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico, hitting a milestone toward a key campaign pledge. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, file)
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, file)
A U.S. House of Representatives committee approved a border security bill on Wednesday that included $10 billion to put toward construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, The Hill reported.
The House Homeland Security Committee, which U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) is a part of, approved the Border Security for America Act with a 18-12 vote.
In addition to the $10 billion in funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, the bill also included $5 billion to improve ports of entry and added 5,000 agents to the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection.
It would also allow the federal government to reimburse states up to $35 million for use of National Guard assets to reinforce border security.
An amendment proposed by McSally that would force some investments in border security, such as control centers, to be installed in the border, rather than remotely, was passed unanimously, according to the publication.
The bill will now head to the House floor, where it will be debated whether it should be added to another bill to protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA.
