Wittman Votes to Fund Border Wall

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Wittman (VA-01) released this statement after voting to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) with an additional $5.7 billion for construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border:

"Yet again we find ourselves budgeting by crisis. We should not be funding our government through continuing resolutions (CRs) – they are a short-term solution to a long-term problem. This situation was completely avoidable; Last week, instead of staying in town to get the job done, Members had a six-day weekend when critical funding issues were at stake. In fact, I said it this summer and I'll say it again now, Members of Congress should've worked through August to pass all the appropriations bills through regular order.

"Although I am fundamentally against CRs, it is critical that we protect our nation. I have received countless calls and emails from constituents over the past few days in support of building a border wall, and I was proud to cast my vote today in favor of protecting our homeland and finally delivering on one of our key promises.

"We are at a crisis point. From October 2017 through July 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 6,423 pounds of cocaine, 532 pounds of heroin, 439,531 pounds of marijuana, 10,382 pounds of methamphetamine, and 332 pounds of fentanyl. On average last year, the Department of Homeland Security prevented 10 individuals tied to terror—known or suspected terrorists—each day from traveling or attempting to travel to the United States. We can't continue to let this happen. Simply put, we promised the American people that we would protect our southern border, and we must honor that promise.

"We need to address our illegal immigration crisis, and I stand ready and willing to come to a solution that puts Americans first. Until Congress can get a budget and appropriations bills passed on-time, through regular order, I'll keep introducing my No Budget, No Pay Act and Stay on Schedule resolution which says simply this: if Congress can't get the job done they shouldn't get a paycheck or a vacation. I remain committed to providing a path to fiscal certainty for our federal government and to securing our southern border.

"I urge Senator McConnell to immediately schedule a vote on this legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown."