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My friend and Congressional Representative checks in and keeps his constituents updated. Buddy has grown enormously in the office and deserves reelection!
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Our southern border is in shambles.
I joined fellow members of the House Budget committee as we visited the southwest border this week. What we saw was nothing short of pure chaos. This week, I'm recapping what I saw. |
Don't have time to read? Watch my recap on Fox and Friends! |
We visited McAllen, TX, located in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) sector, the southernmost and busiest of the nine sectors along the border. The RGV sector experiences 10,000 encounters every 7 days and has seen immigrants from 71 different countries with 174 different countries being seen across all nine sectors. This is the fifth time I’ve been to the border in the eight years I’ve been a member of Congress, with the last time being almost a year ago. Although I hoped I would find improvement in the situation, I was not surprised to see that things have only gotten worse. It is one of the worse humanitarian crises in the world. We visited two processing centers, the RGV Sector Centralized Processing Center for single adults and the Donna Processing Facility for unaccompanied children and families. Both facilities are over capacity. The Centralized Processing Center had 1500 people in a facility with a capacity of 1200. The Donna facility, which opened the week of my visit last year, was over capacity within hours of its opening and remains so today. We also witnessed an overwhelmed staff, particularly among the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Trained as law enforcement officers and wanting to do just that, the CBP agents are working in the processing centers and performing humanitarian services due to the overwhelming number of illegals. One CBP agent said that they’re “standing in front of a fire hydrant with a bucket. You can hand me another bucket, but what I really need is for you to turn off the tap.” As to be expected, and as was the case during my last visit, morale is low among the CBP but, being the professionals they are, they continue to do outstanding work.
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We also visited the McAllen Air and Marine Branch where we toured the docks on the Rio Grande River and were taken on boat tours on the river to witness how state and federal law enforcement are battling the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs.
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We visited a 20-mile portion of the border wall that was constructed under President Trump that, sadly, has gaps in the wall as a result of President Biden’s decision to stop construction and freeze the use of $1.4 billion in funding passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress.
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We visited a stockyard that contained over $350 million worth of material purchased and paid and intended to be used for construction of the wall sitting out in the open rusting and deteriorating. That is the definition of waste and it is in direct violation of federal law. |
Afterwards, we visited with the Texas Department of Public Safety to learn about the work they are doing with “Operation Lone Star” to control the situation and keep their citizens safe.
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Finally, we met with the Mayor, City Council members, and law enforcement officials of the City of McAllen to hear their experiences with this out-of-control situation.
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As members of the Budget Committee, we were particularly interested in the monetary aspect of this crisis. The costs and waste of hard-earned taxpayers’ money is staggering: - $350 million worth of unused border wall materials rusting away in stockyards. - $6 million per day on suspensions and termination costs related to border wall contracts. - $3 billion ($60 million per week) for contracts to shelter unaccompanied children - $50,000 per month for migrant childcare items, including infant items that can’t currently be found on store shelves in America. - Millions in transportation costs for contracts to facilitate the movement of migrants between federal facilities. - Millions for Alternatives to Detention programs including GPS tracking devices for the increase in migrants being released from custody. - $86 billion for hotel rooms to temporarily house the surge of migrants.
Other stats we found included: - Since taking office, President Biden’s open border policies have more than tripled illegal migration to the U.S. - April was the highest month ever recorded, with more than 260,000 encounters. - At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021. - Border encounters are projected to spike from 8-10,000 per day to as many as 18-20,000 per day should the Title 42 border policy be cancelled. - Criminals, weapons, drugs, and trafficked persons are coming across in record numbers: - 15,086 individuals attempting to cross the border with criminal convictions and 393 known gang members, including 149 members of MS-13, have already been arrested by CBP in the first half of FY 2022. - $12,000 to $24,000 per person are being charged by smugglers and cartels to bring illegal immigrants across the border. Cartels are making $32 million per day, $1 billion per month from fees they charge to illegally traffic people. - 340,000 pounds of drugs have been seized by CBP so far in FY 2022. - 6,601 pounds of fentanyl have been seized by CBP. That's enough fentanyl so far this year to kill 2.4 billion people, over seven times the U.S. population. - 27 people whose name appeared on the Terrorist Screening Database were captured by CBP illegally attempting to cross the border as of March 31, 2022. |
The numbers and statistics are indeed staggering. What needs to be done? Every person I spoke to in McAllen said the same four things: build the wall, keep Title 42 in place, enforce the Remain in Mexico policy, and have consequences for those who cross the border illegally.
Border security is national security and right now we don’t have either.
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In this week's edition of Buddy's Briefings, you're getting an in-depth look at the waste caused by Biden's decision to cancel border wall construction. |
Monday, May 30: Today is Memorial Day! While we thank our Veterans every day and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, today we pause to recognize them in a special way.
My day starts in the City of Pooler as we have a great ceremony at City Hall featuring the presence of Sgt. First Class Ryan Davis, an Afghanistan veteran who lost his arm and both legs in an explosion during his final tour. During his recovery in 2019, I had the honor of visiting Ryan at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He and his beautiful family are true inspirations.
Immediately after the ceremony, I head to Bloomingdale where they have their annual Memorial Day observance at the beautiful Veterans Freedom Park and Chatham County Veteran of the year O C Fowler, Jr., Retired Commander, USN, is the guest speaker. After greeting the great crowd, I head to J F Gregory Park in Richmond Hill, where they have their Memorial Day observance with guest speaker Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Jennings. After the speeches, Richmond Hill Mayor Russ Carpenter and Sgt. Maj. Jennings lay a wreath at the Veterans Memorial at the Park.
Next, I head to American Legion Post 184 in Thunderbolt where I join the Chatham County Veterans Council for their Memorial Day Luncheon. Later in the day, I head to Neptune Park on St. Simons Island in Glynn County for the 31st annual Taps at Twilight sponsored by the St. Simons Rotary Club. With the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and beautiful weather to boot, the large crowd enjoys patriotic music performed by The Golden Isles Community Band before a great program featuring guest speaker Lt. Col. Steve Bolton, Hunter Army Airfield Commander. What a great ceremony to end a great day!
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Tuesday, May 31: Before heading to the Southern border as detailed above, I head to Rincon in Effingham County where I have a tour of Quantix (formerly A&R Logistics), a resin packaging plant. With over 600,000 square feet of warehouse space, the facility receives pellets in hopper cars, then packages and places them into containers to truck to the Georgia Ports in Garden City.
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Thursday, June 2: Before leaving the border, I have a number of interviews to discuss my trip beginning with Mornings with Maria on Fox Business followed by Newsmax.
Next, I have radio interviews with by good friends, Bill Edwards with NewTalk 1290 in Savannah before speaking with Scott Ryfun on Straight Talk 98.7 in Brunswick.
After interviews with Fox 28 and WJCL TV 22 in Savannah, I record a video for WTOC-TV in Savannah. Once at home later in the evening, I have a live interview with Robb Schmitt Tonight on Newsmax.
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Friday, June 3: After attending our weekly Band of Brothers bible study, I have a radio interview with John Fredericks as we discuss 2nd amendment rights and my recent trip to the border.
Next, I head to the grand opening ceremony for the Pooler IMAX theater which boasts the tallest movie screen in the world. Amazingly, through a deep commitment to success, Pappu Patel and his partners have built one of the busiest movie theater complexes in America right here in Pooler in the First District.
Afterwards, I head to Alma in Bacon County and during the drive I have a phone interview with Politico to discuss Republican priorities for the next session.
Once in Alma, I meet with local leaders before touring the newly completed La Regina Pasta plant where they have just finished their first full run of final product after two years of preparation. This high-quality sauce is made from tomatoes grown in the parent company’s home country of Italy and shipped here where it is mixed with other ingredients to make one of the leading pasta sauces in the world.
After a great visit, I stop by Bacon County Elementary School where I speak to participants in the Junior Deputy Summer Program before heading to the Bacon County Annex where I have a live interview with Newsmax to discuss inflation and the Biden administrations lack of action.
Next, I head to downtown Alma where I visit the numerous vendors participating in this year’s Georgia Blueberry Festival. This two-day festival started in 1974 and celebrates the importance of the blueberry crop to Alma and Bacon County.
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A brilliant and very much needed to the black community. The fruit is there but "you" have to work to pick it so go into the vineyards and shake off your dependent status. Quit allowing yourselves to be used by hypocrite politicians. Rebuild your family structure, re-embrace your religious connections and insist on a good educational curriculum and not the watered down garbage Democrats and their union frauds feed you. https://youtu.be/zjmi2_7xYWk
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Airline Announcements:
United Flight Attendant announced, 'People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!
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On landing, the stewardess said, 'Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have. '
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'There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane'
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After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, 'Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because sure as hell everything has shifted after a landing like that.'
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Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: 'We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.'
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Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo .... Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!'
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'Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.'
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After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.'
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A man boarded a plane with six kids. After they got settled in their seats a woman sitting across the aisle from him leaned over to him and asked, "Are all of those kids yours?"
He replied, "No. I work for a condom company. These are customer complaints."
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