Reimbursement For Texas Border Security Clears Senate Committee Hurdle

Texas has done more than its fair share in protecting the southern border in recent years. Governor Greg Abbott's 'Operation Lone Star' helped crackdown on illegal immigration into the state, which was fueled by disgraceful border policies from the Biden Administration. The state also paid a significant price tag for it, spending about $11 billion on border security while Biden was president.

So, naturally, the state is asking for that money back from the federal government. Governor Abbott wrote two letters earlier this year demanding so. Currently, the government has more than cooperated, and included refunds for Texas, and other states, in their defense of the border. It is all wrapped into President Trump's big, beautiful budget bill. That bill is making the rounds through the Senate now, after the House passed it earlier this month.

As it looks right now, Texas will see the money come back to them, as the bill has cleared another committee hurdle. Luca Cacciatore of Texas Scorecard says it looks as if Texas will get all of the money back.

"It includes $13.5 billion in total for Texas and other states that spent large sums protecting the borders during the Biden Administration," he says.

Nothing though is a sure thing in the world of Washington. One day it might be, the next it is not. Plenty of Republicans in the Senate have expressed desires for more cuts and might vote against the bill.

But the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' passing its most recent committee hurdle all but solidifies Texas' returns.

"Unless something crazy happens on the Senate floor, where it gets taken out...a lot of these omnibus bills have a lot of pork included, and there several hurdles leading up to that point where things can be taken out or shifted," says Cacciatore.

Essentially, the longer it stays in there with no shifting from the committees, the more concrete the reimbursement becomes. The Senate Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were both huge obstacles, and both passed the bill forward.

So, there is a reason for Texas to be excited.

"There is a reason why Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are parading this...because it has essentially cleared the final hurdle," Cacciatore says.

The Senate is expected to vote on the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' by the end of the month. Republicans hope to have the bill on President Trump's desk by the Fourth of July.