Rep. Roy offers surface transportation bill amendment to strip earmarks and fund border wall

WASHINGTON—Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement after introducing an amendment to the INVEST in America Act, House Democrats' surface transportation bill, that would strip the nearly $5.7 billion in earmarks from the bill and instead establish a $5.7 billion fund in Treasury dedicated to funding the construction of a wall on our southern border:

"Democrats included nearly $5.7 billion in corrupt earmarks in the surface transportation measure that is expected to receive a vote this week in the House. Instead of using federal taxpayer dollars to fund pet projects like electric vehicle charging networks in California and million-dollar sidewalk expansions in Connecticut, Congress should redirect these funds to address the ongoing and very real crisis at our southern border. Currently, primary and secondary barriers cover only 771 miles of our nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, and the Rio Grande Valley sector – the busiest migrant crossing area – is wide open with only 76 miles of border wall to cover the river. My amendment would strike every single earmark from this legislation and instead authorize a $5.7 billion Border Wall Fund in Treasury to support the completion of a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border," said Rep. Chip Roy.