from The Huizenga Huddle: July 2, 2019

Most of us have seen the photos and heard the stories of the tragic conditions on the border. For nearly two months, the President’s funding request to address the growing crisis on the border sat idle.

During this time, House Republicans attempted to pass legislation 18 times that would deliver humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, the majority in the House refused to consider the President’s request and every one of these attempts were blocked or rejected.

Thankfully, a bipartisan agreement was reached in the Senate that passed 84-8. After initially refusing to hold a vote on this critical legislation Speaker Pelosi relented and this bipartisan measure passed the House with over 300 votes. I voted for this aid package because we need to provide relief and work to improve conditions on the border while giving federal agencies the flexibility to address this ongoing crisis.

It’s clear there is a crisis on the southern border. In May, Customs and Border Patrol encountered 144,000 individuals alone. To put this in perspective, that is roughly double the size of Wyoming, the largest city in the Second District, and just over four times the size of Holland. Remember, this happened in one month.