PoliticsCongress

Actions

House Passes $4.5B Emergency Aid Package For The Southern Border

The vote came after several federal departments warned they'll soon run out of funds amid the increasing number of migrants at the border.
Posted

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $4.5 billion emergency aid package for the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday night.

"The yeas are 230 and the nays are 195. The bill is passed, without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table."

Tuesday's vote came after independent monitors warned about worsening conditions at detention facilities. Additionally, officials within Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services have warned they will soon run out of funds amid the increasing number of migrants attempting to cross the southern border.

Beyond providing almost $1 billion for food, medical supplies and processing facilities for migrants at the southern border, the House bill also includes funds for legal services for unaccompanied migrant children and a processing center pilot program.

House lawmakers also attached a series of restrictions to the bill, including provisions on the living conditions of migrant shelters, congressional oversight requirements and protections for sponsors who take in unaccompanied migrant children.

Democratic leaders tacked even more provisions onto the bill before the vote Tuesday, in an effort to satisfy some Hispanic and progressive lawmakers who'd taken issue with parts of the proposed aid package.

The House is now going to have to figure out some way to negotiate with the Senate, which is working to pass its own bipartisan emergency funding bill totaling almost $4.6 billion.

The White House has already indicated it would veto the House bill if it's presented to the president in its current form.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.