Congressman Gonzalez Speaks on House Floor in Opposition to Border Wall Funding

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), whose district is anchored in McAllen on the U.S.-Mexico Border, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in opposition to spending $1.6 billion of taxpayer money to construct a wall along the southern border.

Congressman Gonzalez ardently opposes the construction of a border wall and has called on his colleagues to reject this wasteful and ineffective exercise and devise a more thoughtful, productive, and innovative plan to enhance border security and re-allocate these funds to support federal programs that benefit the American people.  

Watch his remarks below:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out against the wasteful spending of 1.6 billion dollars of taxpayer money.

These funds will be used to construct unnecessary barriers along our southern border -  destroying wildlife habitats and violating private property rights of Americans.

  If we want more security, we should appropriate more funding to address CBP’s staffing issue; to maintain and upgrade aerostats and other technology; and to provide CBP with the resources it actually needs to continue maintaining a safe and secure border.  

Building a wall along our southern border will put us on the wrong side of history.

It will also be a shameful act in front of the international community that is watching us.

Mr. Speaker, I support the Department of Homeland Securities’ mission to “safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values,” but the Congressional misallocation of over one and a half billion dollars does not help to accomplish this goal.

I urge my colleagues to oppose funding for this expensive, unnecessary wall, and I call on them to find more productive and effective uses for these funds in a way that better helps the American people, and be on the right side of American history.

I yield back the balance of my time.”

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