Congressman Kelly Armstrong Will Vote to Build Border Barrier and Fund Government

Statement

Congressman Kelly Armstrong announced today that he will vote to build 55 miles of new physical barriers on the southern border. The legislation includes funding for fencing and steel slats along the Rio Grande Valley, an area the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says is subject to a high number of illegal border crossings. The new barriers are in addition to the eight miles of levee walls already under construction in the region.

"Building 55 miles of new physical barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, in addition to $22.5 billion in other border security measures, is an important step to secure the US-Mexico border and ending the humanitarian crisis." said Armstrong (R, N.D.). "The bill also includes important victories for North Dakota. Rural North Dakotans, farmers and ranchers all benefit from the bill. While the bill is far from perfect, the funding for the border barrier, 1,200 new Border Patrol agents, along with the wins for North Dakota's agriculture community outweigh my significant concerns with the bill."

In addition to funding 55 miles of fencing and steel slats, the bill provides for 1,200 new Border Patrol officers and $1 billion for border security technology, port of entry inspection equipment and humanitarian aid.

The bill also includes $4.25 billion for farm ownership loans and $3.5 billion for farm operating loans and prevents the Food and Drug Administration from enforcing burdensome honey labeling requirements. The bill also helps combat the opioid epidemic in rural America, expands the buildout of rural broadband internet, funds crucial rural water infrastructure projects and increases support for agriculture research.

Armstrong is in his first term as the lone representative for the state of North Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Source