The passage by Congress of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” includes a provision for the reimbursement of funds spent by states on border security. Texas led the nation in state border security spending and could receive up to $11 billion in reimbursements.
In a post on social media on Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the provision a “Big win for Texas.”
“Texas will finally get reimbursed for the billions we spent on securing the border when the Biden-Harris admin refused,” the Texas governor wrote. “Thank you, @realDonaldTrump, for standing with Texas.”
President Donald Trump is expected to sign the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on July 4 during an Independence Day signing ceremony. The ceremony will include a White House flyover by U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers, F-22 Raptor fighters, and F-35 Lightning II fighters, according to Fox News.
“We’re signing at about 5:00 p.m., and at about 5:00 p.m., we’re going to have B-2s and F-22s and F-35s flying right over the White House,” Trump told reporters during a press gaggle at Joint Base Andrews, “… so we’ll be signing with those beautiful planes flying right over our heads.”
The bill includes a provision entitled the “State Border Security Reimbursement Fund.” The bill authorized the expenditure of federal funds to be used as grants for eligible states and units of local government that spent funds for “construction or installation of a border wall, border fencing, or other barrier, or buoys along the southern border of the United States.” It also includes funds to reimburse the cost of state and local efforts to interdict “illicit substances and aliens who have unlawfully entered the United States and have committed a crime under Federal, State, or local law, and transfer or referral of such aliens to the Department of Homeland Security.”
Governor Greg Abbott is joined by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, and then-South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Now DHS Secretary) in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Finally, the bill authorized the reimbursement of funds expended by state and local governments for the “relocation of aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States from small population centers to other domestic locations.” This would include Governor Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s programs that bused or flew migrants from border regions to sanctuary city jurisdictions in New York, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and other locations. The City of El Paso also expended funds to bus migrants from the border to New York City, Breitbart Texas reported.
The bill also authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to establish a “State Border Security Reinforcement Fund” of $10 billion for the expenditure by states on border security efforts. The fund will be taken out of FY25 authorizations and will be available to the states until September 30, 2034, as stated in the act.
Governor Abbott meets with nine Republican governors for a border briefing in Mission, Texas. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
The State of Texas led the nation in state funding for border security during the Biden administration’s abdication of responsibility over the past four years. Many other Republican-led states joined in by sending their state police and National Guard to assist the Lone Star State’s efforts, Breitbart Texas reported.
Some of the participating state governors include:
- Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Georgia Governor Brian Kemp
- Idaho Governor Brad Little
- Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb
- Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
- Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry
- Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves
- Missouri Governor Mike Parson
- Montana Governor Greg Gianforte
- Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen
- New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu
- South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee
- Utah Governor Spencer Cox
The history of Texas’s efforts to secure the border dates back to the Obama administration when then-Governor Rick Perry ordered a surge of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers to the border, Breitbart reported at the time.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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