CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives selected as part of the legislative conference committee met for the first time Wednesday to discuss how to best approach border security concerns.
The committee is responsible for coming up with an agreement by Feb. 15, when the current deal that ended the 35-day partial shutdown ends.
“Some people say reaching an agreement is a steep mountain to climb,” U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said. “But I’m from the Mountain State, and I embrace that.”
President Donald Trump and Congress agreed last Friday to a three-week continuing resolution to reopen parts of the government closed before Christmas, including the Department of Homeland Security. Trump has since maintained his $5.7 billion funding request for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which Democrats still oppose.
“If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!” the president tweeted Wednesday.
The Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, which Capito chairs, approved a funding bill last June which would have set aside $1.6 billion for 65 miles of a border wall; Trump initially requested the funding amount.
“The situation at the border, as we have all acknowledged, has been changing. Both the data we receive and the law enforcement professionals we talk to our telling us that very fact over and over,” Capito said. “To respond to these changes, they are asking us for increased investments across the spectrum of border security and immigration enforcement. More technology, more personnel and more infrastructure, including physical barriers where it makes sense.”
Democratic committee members agreed border security efforts need funding, but they would not support Trump’s request for a wall.
“Nothing can be considered in a vacuum. More funding for one priority means less for others,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., who is chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.
“The issue is not only just that the president is proposing to spend $5.7 billion on border barriers,” she added. “It’s that there’s serious homeland security vulnerabilities for which we will have no funding if the president gets his request.”
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said how the committee allocates funding must be “grounded in reality.”
“We need to address problems with solutions rooted in facts, not merely rooted in campaign rhetoric. We need solutions that honor American and honor our American values and who we are as a nation,” said Leahy, the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said border agents want a physical barrier installed to stop immigrants from coming into the country illegally. Shelby noted the barriers should be in areas of high traffic.
“Combined with technology, manpower and other infrastructure, these strategic barriers compromise a comprehensive solution that is capable of fully securing the border. It is a commonsense — I believe — all of the above solution to a problem that both parties have said for years we have to fix,” the Republican said.
More than 650 miles of barriers exist at the southern border, including 354 miles of pedestrian fencing.
“Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees embrace the idea that we produce legislation one time a year,” Capito said. “Hopefully, every time, every year, it reflects very careful choices and compromises based on the most recent and accurate information that we have.”
A second shutdown could happen if a deal is not met by the Feb. 15 deadline. According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday, the recent shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, and $3 billion cannot be recovered. Around 800,00 federal workers were furloughed or worked without pay while the government was shut down.