WASHINGTON – House Republicans on Thursday passed their One Big Beautiful Bill Act with $12 billion that would go toward reimbursing states for border security costs incurred since the start of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
If approved, much of that funding would likely flow to Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott has traveled to Washington multiple times this year, lobbying congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump to provide about $11 billion to cover spending on Operation Lone Star.
That initiative involved sending state troopers and National Guard soldiers to the border, as well as putting razor wire and other physical barriers along the Rio Grande.
Congressional Republicans from Texas have advocated for years to have the state reimbursed.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, recently introduced legislation to establish a reimbursement fund to cover states’ border expenses.
He said the intention was to include it in the sweeping legislative package moving through a process called budget reconciliation that does not require votes from Democrats.
House Republicans added the reimbursement language to the bill just before it passed early Thursday by a vote of 215-214.
Other last-minute changes to the bill were made to win over conservative holdouts seeking deeper spending cuts and Republicans from blue states pushing to raise the cap on state and local tax deductions.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where further changes are expected.
Republicans say Biden failed to secure the border, requiring Texas to fill the void with its own operations.
U.S. Rep. August Pfluger of San Angelo highlighted his and other Texas Republicans’ efforts to secure reimbursement for expenses he says the state never should have been forced to bear.
“The reckless border policies of the previous administration created chaos nationwide and left Texas to clean up the mess,” Pfluger said in a statement. “When the federal government failed to secure our border, Texas stepped up — spending billions to defend our communities.”