Dec. 28, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump to hold firm on $5 billion of funding for the southern border wall:
“At the beginning of 2017, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell defined fully funding the wall at $12 billion to $15 billion. The President’s current budget request for $5 billion for the southern border wall is a dramatic compromise from the amount originally identified and promised as needed to complete the project. This shutdown fully and completely lies at the feet of Democrat leadership in the Senate that has refused the one-third, $5 billion compromise offered by President Trump.
“It is incredibly bad politics for Republicans to start negotiating with themselves through the media when the Democrats continue to turn a blind eye to the government workers they are furloughing. President Trump should not only hold firm on the $5 billion compromise, but should insist that Democrat priority spending in other parts of the funding bill be stripped effective Jan. 2, 2019.
“Americans for Limited Government urges that non-Department of Homeland Security spending be decreased by 1 percent for every week the Democrats refuse to adequately fund our nation’s border security. What’s more, the President and House and Senate Republican leaders should make clear that furloughed federal workers who are not working will not be paid at the end of the shutdown. While our hearts go out to those impacted by the shutdown through no fault of their own, a private sector worker in the same circumstance would not be paid for time lost, and the federal workers whose unions have aggressively supported Democrat leadership need to be held to that same standard.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview.
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