By Cassandra Fairbanks
House Democrats have blocked a motion that would have stopped Vice President Kamala Harris from travelling on the taxpayer’s dime until she visits the Southern Border and “reports to the American people on the steps the Administration is taking to address the crisis.”
The See the Crisis Act was introduced by Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson last month and was blocked by 217 Democrats on Monday evening.
Speaking before her fellow lawmakers, Hinson said that the crisis at the border impacts every American and requested immediate consideration of her measure. The request was denied.
“This crisis is worsening by the day. Yet, the vice president has refused to go to the border herself and talk to the brave law enforcement officers, the men and women who are fighting this on the frontlines. This out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach is a disgrace,” Hinson said on the House floor. “She’s been to yarn shops, she’s been to bakeries, and she just flew right over the crisis at our southern border to meet with foreign countries with the taxpayer’s checkbook in hand. When asked why she hasn’t visited the border, she laughed. She laughed, and this is no laughing matter. The border crisis impacts the safety and security of every Iowan, of every American. Every state is a border state right now.”
🚨 House Democrats just BLOCKED consideration of the See the Crisis Act
This bill would prevent @VP Kamala Harris from using taxpayer funds to travel internationally — until she visits the southern border
WATCH @RepAshleyHinson speak on the House Floor in support of her bill ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nbYCYf26MB
— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) June 14, 2021
President Joe Biden had reportedly tapped Harris to lead the Administration’s immigration and border policy work in March, but the White House has since claimed that she was put in charge of addressing the reasons migrants are leaving their homes in South America, not actual border security.
In an article about the confusion published by NBC News in April, they noted that since her role was announced, her aides claim that she has been focused on working behind the scenes — “But publicly, her focus has appeared to be elsewhere.”
“On Monday, Harris visited Oakland, California, to highlight the administration’s new American Jobs Plan. She made another trip on Tuesday to Chicago, where she toured a vaccination site. She joined Biden on Wednesday for a speech about the jobs plan, spoke about the administration’s steps to combat gun violence on Thursday and attended an economic briefing in the Oval Office on Friday,” the NBC report pointed out. “Harris did not hold any public events this past week related to migration and declined to take questions from the reporters traveling with her on her trips outside of Washington.”
According to a statement released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection last week, the agency encountered 180,034 people attempting entry along the Southwest Border in May alone.
“Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a dramatic rise in the number of rescues CBP performs. In May 2021, CBP conducted 7,084 rescues nationwide, and CBP has rescued 35 percent more individuals in Fiscal Year 2021 than all of Fiscal Year 2020,” the statement noted.
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