House Republicans call for border security to be part of debt ceiling deal
Reese Gorman
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EXCLUSIVE — Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Ben Cline (R-VA) are gathering support for a letter calling on President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to include border security measures in a final debt ceiling bill.
The letter, obtained by the Washington Examiner, is still being circulated to fellow House Republicans and will be sent later this week, according to a source familiar.
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Cline and Hern are members of the Republican Study Committee. Hern is the chairman, and Cline chairs the RSC Budget and Spending Task Force. The two have been working closely together on debt ceiling solutions throughout the year.
The letter says now that Title 42 has expired and with a June 1 debt ceiling deadline approaching, Biden and congressional Democrats have created twin problems that a budget deal should address at the same time.
“As we speak, the United States is experiencing a rapidly worsening border crisis and barreling toward a debt limit crisis,” the letter reads. “Let’s be very clear, these crises are a direct product of the failed policies and neglect of President Biden and Congressional Democrats. We believe each of these issues should be considered together during your current debt limit negotiations.”
They reference H.R. 2, the GOP border security bill that the House passed last week, and the “Limit, Save, Grow Act,” which House Republicans passed in late April to raise the debt ceiling while also making significant spending cuts. Both bills were deemed dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and Biden said he would veto them if they made it to his desk.
“American taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for the rapidly growing illegal immigration crisis,” the two say in the letter. “Thus, we support the inclusion of common-sense border security and immigration reforms in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. H.R. 2, the Secure Our Border Act should logically serve as the starting point for considering sound border security measures.”
Hern and Cline are not the first members to call for border security to be included in debt ceiling negotiations.
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On Friday, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told Politico that House Republicans’ border security bill “is now a central part of any debt ceiling or spending debate for the remainder of the year.”
One of McCarthy’s top lieutenants, Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), told Politico that “the House has now added more to the mix” by passing the border security bill during debt ceiling negotiations.