Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Border Security Bill Could Be Taken Up During Emergency Session

 

Called into an emergency session for one day by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, today the House may move on the border security bill passed by the Senate last week.

As reported by La Plaza, last week the Senate unanimously passed a $600 million bill that would increase the number of agents along the border and the number of unmanned aerial drones. 

The House had already departed for a six-week summer break, but passage of a jobs bill including the border security bill by the Senate prompted Pelosi to summon representatives back to Washington.

While border security passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, such is not the case for the $26 billion jobs bill.  Still, funding for the bill on border security faced its own obstacles.  Action stalled when Republicans tried taking unspent stimulus dollars to pay for increased surveillance along the border.  Eventually the Democrats, who support funding the bill through a plan to raise fees on visas such as H-1B for companies that import foreign workers into the United, carried the day.

The bill may have to go back to the Senate before being sent to Obama for his signature due to rules that revenue bills must originate in the House.

Associated Press