Houston Daily

Governor Greg Abbott expressed gratitude to the United States House of Representatives for allocating $12 billion in President Donald J. Trump's proposed legislation, known as "One Big Beautiful Bill." This allocation aims to reimburse states for expenses incurred while addressing border security issues that arose during former President Joe Biden's administration.

"Former President Biden’s reckless open border policies left Texas and the rest of America defenseless against an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration, requiring Texas to hold the line," stated Governor Abbott. He highlighted that in March 2021, he initiated Operation Lone Star to address gaps left by federal policies. Under this operation, Texas spent over $11 billion on border security efforts. Earlier this year, Governor Abbott requested Congress to fully reimburse these costs.

Abbott acknowledged the efforts of the Texas Congressional Delegation in ensuring the inclusion of reimbursement provisions in the U.S. House's version of President Trump's bill but emphasized that further steps are needed to finalize this legislation. "I will continue working with the U.S. Senate, Texas Congressional Delegation, and President Trump to ensure Texas is fully reimbursed for doing the federal government’s job to secure the border," he added.

In January, Governor Abbott sent letters to U.S. Congressional Leadership and members of the Texas Congressional Delegation requesting reimbursement for more than $11.1 billion spent by Texas taxpayers on border security due to what he described as a lack of action from the Biden Administration over four years.