The House approved a bipartisan $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday that prohibits construction of a border wall in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, south of Alamo.
The House approved a bipartisan $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday that prohibits construction of a border wall in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, south of Alamo.
The bill includes $1.6 billion for the wall and border security.
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, released a statement applauding the bill and saying the bill will preserve habitat for generations.
“Keeping the border wall out of the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge was a top priority and the barring of border wall funds at the refuge will ensure that Texans and Texas wildlife can enjoy this habitat for years to come. While I ultimately could not support the final passage of the bill because it funds the border wall in other locations and provides no protections for DREAMers, this exemption is a significant victory for South Texas to keep the ‘jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge’ pristine.”
{{tncms-inline account=”SuzGamboa” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In news release, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepFilemonVela?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepFilemonVela</a>, D-Texas, says omnibus prohibits funding for border wall construction in Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. <a href="https://t.co/UxaOhhGhoF">pic.twitter.com/UxaOhhGhoF</a></p>&mdash; Suzanne Gamboa (@SuzGamboa) <a href="https://twitter.com/SuzGamboa/status/976934012626374656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”976934012626374656″ type=”twitter”}}
The next step was Senate passage, which was assured.
For more on the story read Friday’s Brownsville Herald.
