During a House Armed Services Committee markup meeting before the Congressional recess, Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) spoke about funding for construction of the wall on the southern border.
00:00We will now consider log number 5339R1 by Mr. Pesquez.
00:07For what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition?
00:10Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
00:12Will the clerk please distribute the amendment?
00:14Without objection, the reading and amendments dispensed with.
00:17The chair recognizes the gentleman for the purpose of explaining his amendment.
00:20Thank you, Mr. Chair. My amendment is simple.
00:22It prohibits DOD funds for FY26 from being used for the construction of new border wall in areas
00:28without an existing barrier until SecDef provides a feasibility study and cost analysis.
00:34Now, I've lived on the border my entire life,
00:36and I know that there's parts of the border that simply don't need a wall to be secure.
00:40And, you know, I'm not the only one who thinks this.
00:42In fact, just a few weeks ago, Secretary Hegseth sat in this very room
00:47and admitted that there are areas where we just don't need a border wall.
00:51And I quote, I am aware that there are gaps in different places where walls are not as effective as other places,
00:57and I get that.
00:58That's not fake news.
00:59Those are the words spoken by Secretary Hegseth in this very committee room.
01:03As I explained then, along many remote stretches of the border,
01:06there are much more cost-effective tools to keep our border secure,
01:10like ASTs and tactical aerostats that can monitor remote stretches of the border
01:16and allow Border Patrol to effectively respond as needed.
01:20Border Patrol calls this technology a force multiplier
01:23and has consistently asked for this new technology.
01:27Now, for example, an AST costs us about $625,000 per mile,
01:32while a border wall costs us $20 million per mile.
01:36And that AST has much further range and effectiveness than one single stretch of a $20 million per mile wall.
01:43In these remote cases, a border wall is a waste of taxpayer funding, is it not?
01:49Does this enormous expenditure not fall under the category of wasteful spending,
01:54when better, more effective technology is readily available?
01:58These investments will save taxpayers billions of dollars.
02:01And contrary to the President's initial proposal, this is not being paid by Mexico,
02:06it's being paid by taxpayers, everybody in this room and everybody in this country.
02:10Not only are walls impractical and expensive in remote and rural regions,
02:14they also severely impact wildlife corridors for animals such as the pronghorn antelope,
02:18the gould's turkey, the coos deer, Montezuma quail, animals that we cherish,
02:23and in my case, animals that I hunt to put food on the table for my family.
02:27A wall near places like the most remote stretches of the Coronado National Forest would impact hunters
02:33and hikers' access to federal public lands and desecrate tribal and culturally significant sites along the border.
02:40As an example, the massive undertaking it would take just to build a road to the most remote areas
02:46of the San Luis Mountains in my district would take hundreds of millions of dollars.
02:50That's not counting the cost of construction for the physical wall itself,
02:54if it's even feasible just to build the roads and infrastructure to build this stretch of wall.
02:59Now that's not taking into account the millions of dollars that it would take to maintain these roads into the future
03:05in an area that is prone to massive annual flash flooding.
03:10This amendment does not prevent funding to upgrade or replace existing wall.
03:15But there is a reason parts of the border like the boot heel in my district don't have a wall.
03:20And Secretary Hegseth and members of this committee must fully understand why a wall has not been built
03:26and shouldn't be built before we throw billions of taxpayer dollars down the drain
03:31where more effective border security solutions are available.
03:35Lastly, DHS was just given $46.5 billion to build the wall in the reconciliation bill.
03:42There should be no reason that the Department of Defense should be engaged in this political, ineffective project.
03:47DOD should be focused on war fighting, not domestic immigration efforts.
03:52Let me be clear, I am fully in support of securing our border and it is our duty as lawmakers to do so
03:58in the most effective and common sense way that accomplishes this goal
04:02without needlessly throwing billions of dollars away towards an antiquated and flawed proposal.
04:08Thank you, I encourage all members to support my amendment and I yield back, Mr. Chair.
04:13The gentleman yields back, Chair now recognizes himself.
04:16This amendment is another political stunt intended to undermine President Trump
04:20and his successful border policies.
04:23The American people waited four years for real leadership at the border.
04:27They now have it and this amendment is trying to kneecap their progress.
04:31We have seen the consequences of inaction and the American people don't want to go back to the days of chaos,
04:36confusion and lawlessness defined by the last administration policies.
04:41I have to oppose the amendment as it delays urgent action to secure our border at a time when national security demands speed and resolve.
04:50Does any other members seek recognition on the Vasquez amendment?
04:54The gentleman from Virginia, well, let me go to Mr. Garamendi of California first, then the gentleman from Virginia.
05:01Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:06My colleague from New Mexico raises a very interesting point.
05:12I wasn't going to speak to this, but as he was talking about border walls here, but border walls not there for a variety of reasons.
05:20I remember Codell that I was actually put together back in the day when the Democrats actually put together Codells rather than just attending them.
05:31Part of that was to look at the border between Syria and Jordan, which at that time, seven, eight years ago, was a real chaotic place.
05:45I mean, we're talking about Syria just boiling over, people trying to get out and leave, refugees, and they were headed to Jordan.
05:58Jordan, with American money, put together a virtual border wall.
06:06It involved.
06:07It involved many of the things that my colleague discussed using modern technology, drones, sound systems, other kinds of vibrations, systems set in the ground.
06:20And they had watchtowers about every quarter mile, maybe a half mile, depending upon where it was.
06:27We looked at that on the ground.
06:32We spent time talking to the Jordanian police and military and asked them, does this work?
06:40There's no wall here.
06:41There's not even a fence.
06:43Does it work?
06:44And he said, oh, yeah, it works.
06:46Anybody that comes near that border, we know immediately.
06:50And a patrol is sent out and they're turned back.
06:55It's been in my mind for all these years and kind of sat there until this amendment was put forth in the explanation that there are better ways of doing it, far cheaper.
07:06And based upon the experience that we saw in the Jordanian Syrian border in the midst of the most difficult Syrian uprisings and deaths and the rest of it, it worked.
07:22It worked.
07:23And so the amendment that we have before us is let's not waste our money.
07:28Waste fraud.
07:29Possibly there's fraud.
07:31Is there abuse?
07:32Well, there's abuse just to move down this path.
07:36Surely wasteful.
07:37There's a better way.
07:38And I thank my colleague for pointing out the cost differential.
07:42So what do we want to do here?
07:44We want to close the border.
07:45OK, what's the most effective, cost effective way of doing it?
07:49There is a better way.
07:52I've seen it.
07:54I walked that border with my colleagues on that Codel.
07:59We talked to the military and the police that were there.
08:02Did anybody come through here?
08:04No, they don't.
08:06And by the way, we do have a specific place for them to go to enter Jordan.
08:12And there was a processing system set up there that, by the way, would have been very, very close to the immigration reform that Trump killed so that he could have this issue for his election.
08:25I really want to compliment my colleague for at least bringing to our attention that you don't need a wall everywhere.
08:31You need a system that is smart, effective, cost effective.
08:38I'd like us to consider this.
08:41I don't want us to get caught up in, you know, good or bad.
08:44Trump wants a wall.
08:45Therefore, we're going to build a wall.
08:47Well, maybe there's a better way.
08:50And it turns out there is a much better way.
08:53With that, I yield back.
08:56The gentleman yields back.
08:58The gentleman from Virginia is recognized.
09:00Mr. Chairman, I oppose this amendment from the gentleman from New Mexico.
09:05Thank God we have President Trump back in the White House.
09:08And let's be honest and transparent.
09:10The crisis at the southern border was wholly one created by failed policies of the Biden administration.
09:16Democrat policies told the American people that criminals are good, police are bad, and no one cared about the victims.
09:25We don't know if it's 15 million or 20 million illegal aliens came across our border.
09:31And illegal criminal aliens trained to the Agua MS-13 have been robbing, raping, and killing the American people.
09:38And with no effect, the Biden administration could not slow these criminals coming across our border.
09:43And President Trump secured that border in just a matter of weeks.
09:47So I think I would trust the administration that is effective and that considers police good, criminals bad, and he cares about the victims.
09:58Thanks to President Trump and his administration, we have record low numbers of border encounters.
10:03Additionally, the military presence at the southern border has significantly improved our situation, and we are in a much better position today than we were a year ago.
10:13This amendment seeks to impose bureaucratic loopholes that the administration would be required to jump through rather than completing the border wall construction in an expedient and effective manner.
10:25This effort further shows how unserious the minority is on the southern border, and I urge opposition to this amendment.
10:33The gentleman yields back.
10:35Does any other member seek recognition on the Vasquez amendment?
10:39Seeing none, the question occurs on the amendment offered by Mr. Vasquez.
10:43So many of those in favor will say aye.
10:45Aye.
10:46Those opposed, no.
10:47No.
10:48Appearing the Chair, the ayes have it.
10:49Mr. Chair, I request the recorded vote.
10:51Recorded vote is requested.
10:52Recorded vote is postponed.
10:54We'll say no.
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