By Office of U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Kennedy (R-LA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have reintroduced the WALL Act, legislation that would fully fund the border wall along the southern border. Their legislation, first introduced in December, identifies specific funding sources for the project.
“I’m proud to support the WALL Act, legislation to fully fund a wall along our country’s southern border,” Cassidy said. “This isn’t just about illegal immigration, and it isn’t just about stopping dangerous gang members from coming into our country. It’s also about stopping the flow of drugs coming across our border, killing Americans in communities across the country. It’s time we uphold our responsibility to secure the border and protect Americans. It’s a national security priority, it’s a health priority, it should be an American priority. Let’s get it done.”
“We need to build the wall,” Inhofe said. “Over the past two weeks, Democrats have refused to secure our border from drugs, human trafficking and crime all because they are determined to oppose any policy of President Trump—even policies they have supported in the past. My bill fully funds the wall by assessing penalties on illegal immigration and closing loopholes that allow unauthorized immigrants to receive federal benefits, protecting the integrity of hardworking American citizens’ tax dollars. It’s that simple.”
“The primary responsibility of the federal government is the defense of our nation, which includes strong border security,” Rounds said. “The WALL Act will provide full funding for construction of a physical barrier along our southern border to protect against illegal immigration and stop those who wish to do us harm, such as terrorists, gang members and drug dealers, from entering the United States from the south. It pays for the wall by closing existing loopholes that allow illegal immigrants to receive federal benefits and increasing fines for illegal border crossings and visa overstays. By funding the wall through increased fines, we prevent any risk of dipping into Department of Defense (DoD) funding, which is already stretched thin. I thank Chairman Inhofe for his leadership on this effort and I look forward to advancing this proposal in the Senate.”
“We can certainly afford the construction,” Kennedy said. “Sen. Inhofe and I are teaming up on legislation that will save taxpayers $33 billion simply by ensuring that the taxpayers’ generosity isn’t wasted. If you want to receive food stamps and other benefits, then you should prove your citizenship. If you cross the border illegally or overstay your visit to this country, then you should pay a stiff penalty.”
“The overwhelming majority of Texans and Americans want to stop the flow of illegal immigration into our country with common sense border security,” Cruz said. “The WALL Act would achieve that goal and fully fund the border wall by closing existing loopholes that provide illegal immigrants with federal benefits and tax credits, without affecting the benefits and tax credits used by Americans.”
This legislation will fully fund the president’s border wall while providing specific ways to pay for it:
Require a work-authorized Social Security Number (SSN) to claim refundable tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Child Tax Credit:
- Currently only the child needs a SSN, not the parent benefiting from the refundable child tax credit. The WALL Act would require the parent to have a valid work-eligible social security number.
- Before 2003, the Social Security Agency did not distinguish between work-eligible and non-work eligible SSNs. Therefore, there are individuals benefiting from the EITC they are not authorized to receive because they are non-work eligible.
Require welfare applicants (food stamps, TANF, HUD, etc) to verify citizenship:
- Currently someone only needs to “declare” citizenship and provide a SSN to receive some of these benefits.
- The WALL Act enhances citizenship verification prior to granting benefits using E-verify and require a work-authorized SSN for eligibility.
Increasing the minimum fines on illegal border crossers and establishes minimum penalty for visa overstays.
