Sunday 19 June 2022 10:28 PM Republicans say Dems 'don't care about kids' for not joining them on border tour trends now
Republicans on the House economic disparity subcommittee tore into their Democratic counterparts for traveling all the way to border town McAllen, Texas to talk about infrastructure without touring border operations.
The House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth traveled to South Texas for the first field hearing at the southern border of this Congress. The full committee heard from locals who live in 'colonias,' unincorporated communities that still often don't have basic amenities like running water, paved roads or concrete foundations under their homes.
DailyMail.com viewed the full committee hearing and participated a nighttime ride-along tour and a daytime boat tour of the Rio Grande with border agents and Republican members of the committee, but Democrats did not tour the facilities.
'We're here at the behest of the Democrats, they chose a select hearing in the field at the border, but they don't want to talk about the border. They want to talk about green energy and infrastructure,' Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., told DailyMail.com.
During the field hearing, Democrats and Republicans took time to hear from local residents of colonias in Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez's district who talked about flooding issues faced by South Texas, where due to insufficient drainage structure residents said their own homes would often take on water and the streets outside would be flooded for three days even with mild storms.
The issues pose health hazards for local residents - one man said during a committee roundtable that his wife takes at least one of their three kids to the doctor for a sinus infection every week.
Making the case for further infrastructure funding, community leaders said they would need $600 million to resolve drainage issues.
Republicans on the House economic disparity subcommittee tore into their Democratic counterparts for traveling all the way to border town McAllen, Texas to talk about infrastructure without touring border operations
A congressional delegation of the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth toured the Rio Grande river
The lawmakers were shown various landing points on the U.S. side where smugglers drop migrants after crossing the river
Republicans were hesitant to sign on to funding beyond last year's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. 'If we’re going to go through infrastructure funding again we have a redo to go through hard work to target red-level projects,' Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said.
The State of Texas, meanwhile, has spent $2 billion of its own funds under Operation Lonestar on border security. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., argued that Texas could use that money for infrastructure if it did not have to use it for border protection.
'If the federal government was stepping up and securing the border, there'll be additional funds to address a lot of the needs we heard about they are real needs about internet connectivity, about flood control. we need to be far more thoughtful on how we're spending our money.'
DailyMail.com participated a nighttime ride-along tour and a daytime boat tour of the Rio Grande with border agents and Republican members of the committee, but Democrats did not tour the facilities
Border Patrol agents show a popular crossing spot, replete with discarded life jackets, rafts, clothes and water bottles
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Lonestar last year, and the program has been criticized as wasteful for deploying the National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), where they don't have much authority because border protection falls to the federal government.
Meanwhile, Republicans lambasted Democrats for focusing on infrastructure over border security after a record 239,000 apprehensions were made last month at the southern border.
'To our colleagues on the left, if you