Rep. Jodey Arrington Votes Against Spending Bill

Rep. Jodey Arrington voted against a spending bill that was passed by both the House and Senate on Thursday.

The spending bill, which includes some money for border security, but much less than the President requested, was passed by the Senate by a 83-16 vote and a 300-128 vote in the House.

The White House has said that President Trump will sign the spending bill in order to avert another partial government shutdown. The White House also announced on Thursday that the president would declare a national emergency to build the border wall.

Rep. Arrington joined 108 other House Republicans in voting against the spending bill, which he said "fell well short" of the president's proposal. Arrington also declared support once again for the president declaring a national emergency in a press release after the vote:

I have been adamant that our country is facing a national security crisis and that Congress must give the President the resources and tools he needs to secure the border and protect our citizens.

Unfortunately, Democrats were not interested in offering credible compromise-solutions and the final agreement fell well short of the President’s comprehensive border security proposal, not even funding half of his requested amount for both infrastructure and personnel.

While it’s not ideal, the President has the legal authority to deal with much of this crisis by declaring a national emergency, and I am pleased he has indicated he will do so.

The spending bill allows for just 55 miles of border fencing in Texas at a cost of just over $1.3 billion.