Setting the Record Straight: Building the Wall

Opponent’s Claim: Senator Chuck Grassley voted to stop the construction of President Trump’s border wall. 

Setting the Record Straight: The two votes in question are not votes against the border wall. President Trump negotiated both pieces of legislation directly and signed both into law.

  • H.J. Res. 31 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 — President Donald J. Trump negotiated and signed this bill, which included $1.3 billion for the wall. 
  • H.R. 2157 – Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019 —This legislation included an amendment introduced by Grassley to provide relief to Iowa farmers who lost stored grain in the 2019 floods. It did not defund the border wall and it was signed into law by President Trump.

Grassley supports the border wall, and he repeatedly rebukes the Biden Administration for halting its construction. In fact, Grassley has voted at least 17 times to fund the wall along our southern border. Notably, in 2018, he led the border security debate on behalf of President Trump in the Senate. Grassley’s Secure and Succeed Act was considered on the floor and included $25 billion in border wall funding. What’s more, Grassley has teamed up with Senator Joni Ernst to introduce a bill that would allow states to continue border wall construction. Since President Biden halted construction of the border wall, taxpayers are wasting nearly three million dollars per day for contractors to watch over unused construction materials. 

Anyone who says Grassley opposes border wall funding is spouting fake news. As the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Grassley leads the fight in the U.S. Senate to stop Biden’s Border Crisis, end the surge of illegal immigration and shut down the drug cartels pushing fentanyl into America, killing younger generations in record numbers of overdose deaths.  

“Yea” Votes for Border Wall Funding: 

  • S.Con. Res. 14, Moran amendment No. 3795 in 2021
  • H.J. Res. 31 in 2019
  • S. 744, Thune amendment No. 1197 in 2013
  • H.R. 4899, DeMint amendment No. 4177 in 2010
    • NOTE: This amendment was never formally considered. Rather, Grassley supported the suspension of a Senate Rule in order for the amendment to be considered, indicating support for the amendment itself.
  • S.Con. Res. 13, Sessions amendment No. 969 in 2009
  • H.R. 2892, De Mint Amendment No. 1399 in 2009
  • H.R. 3222, Graham/Kyl amendment No. 3117 in 2007
  • H.R. 5631, Sessions/Kyl modified amendment No. 4775 in 2006
  • H.R. 5441, Sessions/Ensign modified amendment No. 4659 in 2006
  • S. 2611, Sessions amendment No. 3979 in 2006
  • H.R. 6061 in 2006

Votes Against Decreasing or Canceling Border Wall Funding: 

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