Missouri House Budget Committee approves $2.2 million for southern border
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The governor's funding plan to send National Guard soldiers to the country's southern border has received initial approval.
Gov. Mike Parson said last week that he's sending 200 Missouri National Guard members and 20 Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers to the Texas-Mexico border. Parson has said he planned to send soldiers to the border as soon as Friday. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are planning visits to the border this week, around the same time.
He requested $2.2 million from general funds for border aid. This came after he visited the southern border with other GOP governors to learn about Operation Lone Star from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Operation Lone Star is the Texas plan to reduce the number of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Wednesday morning, the Missouri House Budget Committee approved the funds requested by the governor.
"After I, along with many other members of the General Assembly, called for the Governor to help Texas with the border crisis, Governor Parson responded. He is sending National Guard and MSHP members to assist. This morning our Budget Committee passed the budget needed to help defend our border," Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs) said in a post on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
Of the $2.2 million, $206,757 would go to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for personal services and equipment, according to the bill text. The governor said the troopers are going on a volunteer basis. Two are from Mid-Missouri's Troop F.
The largest chunk of the funding, $2 million, would pay the Missouri National Guard soldiers sent to the border.
This funding still needs final approval from the full House before it would go to the Missouri Senate to be approved. As of publication, it has not yet been added to the House Calendar.
Border policies are shaping up to be a big topic ahead of this year's elections. While filing to run for Sen. Josh Hawley's seat, Democratic candidate Lucas Kunce took a shot at his competitor's actions on the border.
"Republicans, like Josh Hawley, tied a border deal to aid in Ukraine, and then when they got the deal that they said that they wanted to actually do something at the border, they all backed off because they were like, 'Oh no, for us, it's politically better to not solve this problem.'" Kunce said. "We need to get politicians who are just in to 'politic' out of office."
Hawley said Democrats are to blame for the issues at the border. While Kunce said Congress should act on border policy, Hawley said the president needs to repeal his border policies.
"Now we see where those policies get us, is because of them that the border is open," Hawley said. "We don't have a wall because Joe Biden canceled it. We don't have asylum that's working properly because Joe Biden has thrown it completely open."
