A piece of legislation labeled the “Buy a Brick, Build the Wall” act was introduced by a Republican lawmaker after the success of a GoFundMe in raising private funds to go toward President Donald Trump’s border wall.
The act would establish a fund allowing private contributions to go toward the creation and maintenance of border walls, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said. Davidson introduced the act, HR 32, on Jan. 3.
“Millions of Americans agree and want to chip in to help secure our borders,” he wrote on Twitter.
In the tweet announcing its introduction, he tagged Brian Kolfage, a triple-amputee supporter of Trump who introduced the GoFundMe in December 2018 to raise funds to help Trump get the wall built.
"Buy a Brick, Build the Wall Act" is newly introduced as HR32. It directs @USTreasury to establish a fund allowing private contributions to fund and maintain border walls. Millions of Americans agree and want to chip in to help secure our borders. cc @BrianKolfage pic.twitter.com/FYzIBBW57V
— Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) January 3, 2019
The fundraiser, called “We The People Will Fund The Wall,” had raised nearly $19 million in 18 days as of Jan. 4.
“Like a majority of those American citizens who voted to elect President Donald J Trump, we voted for him to Make America Great Again. President Trump’s main campaign promise was to BUILD THE WALL. And as he’s followed through on just about every promise so far, this wall project needs to be completed still,” Kolfage wrote on the fundraising page.
“I have grandparents who immigrated to America legally, they did it the correct way and it’s time we uphold our laws, and get this wall BUILT! It’s up to Americans to help out and pitch in to get this project rolling.”
He added, “Democrats are going to stall this project by every means possible and play political games to ensure President Trump doesn’t get his victor[y]. They’d rather see President Trump fail, than see America succeed. However, if we can fund a large portion of this wall, it will jumpstart things and will be less money Trump has to secure from our politicians.”
Davidson’s bill has attracted a number of supporters, including fellow Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
“The American people have already donated over $18 MILLION to fund the border security wall. We need to pass @WarrenDavidson’s bill—Buy a Brick, Build the Wall. He just introduced it today. It would allow the Treasury to use this money to secure our border,” Jordan wrote on Twitter.
While many Democrats have slammed Trump’s border wall proposal, they’ve struggled to put forth alternatives that would help slow the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States. In fiscal 2018 alone, Border Patrol agents apprehended almost 400,000 illegal aliens coming through the Southwest border—averaging out to almost 1,100 per day.
Border experts explained the need for a wall to reporters on Jan. 3 at the White House after being introduced by the president.
National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, who has worked as a border agent for 21 years, said that a wall is necessary, noting that the portions that have been built have served as a deterrent.
“Anywhere that you look where we have built walls, they have worked,” he said. “They have been an absolute necessity for Border Patrol agents in securing the border.”
In the Yuma, Arizona, border sector, a fence reduced illegal border crossings by almost 95 percent and stopped illicit vehicle traffic.
Trump confronted opponents over the lack of funding for the border wall. After the House passed a budget bill containing $5 billion in such funding, Senate Democrats refused to vote for it, leading to a partial government shutdown around Christmas. The president has indicated that the shutdown will continue until a bill that contains some funding for the wall arrives at his desk.
On Jan. 3, the House under a new Democratic majority passed a set of bills without wall funding, but the bills don’t have enough support in the Republican-held Senate to pass.
“Any viable compromise will need to carry the endorsement of the president before it receives a vote in either House of Congress. Under these conditions … the package presented by the House’s new Democratic leaders yesterday can only be seen as a time-wasting act of political posturing,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said from the Senate floor on Friday.
“The administration indicated yesterday the president would actually veto it, and it cannot earn the support of 60 of my colleagues over here in the Senate.”
