TN Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger To Join Delegation To Southern Border

Photo: Harshbarger speaks with Border Patrol Officers during her trip to the Southern Border in 2021 Photo Credit: harshbarger.house.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is leading a small delegation of members to the southern border on Monday, April 25^th and Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger from Tennessee will be joining him. 

McCarthy will be accompanied by:

• Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21)
• Rep. Diana Harshbarger (TN-01)
• Rep. Tony Gonzales (TX-23)
• Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14)
• Rep. Michael Guest (MS-03) 
• Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21)
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) 
• Rep. Blake Moore (UT-01)

Members will spend the day touring Eagle Pass, Texas, in the Del Rio Sector and will hear directly from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Army National Guard about how they are handling the border security crisis they are facing, and how they are preparing for the situation to worsen once Title 42 is eliminated. 

The delegation will also meet with members of the community whose safety and livelihoods continue to be jeopardized due to the Democrats’ refusal to secure the border. 

*** Click Here to Support Conservative Journalism in Tennessee. We can’t cover stories like this without your support!***

This isn’t the first time Harshbarger has made the trip to the Southern Border.  She made the trip in early 2021 along with fellow colleagues on the House Committee on Homeland Security to witness the ongoing border crisis firsthand.

Upon returning from the southwest border, Harshbarger joined with fellow conservative colleagues in signing a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

The letter restated their concerns about what they describe as an “unlawful, man-made humanitarian and national crisis.” It highlighted the current lack of adequate accounting on the nature and to what extent illegal immigrants are dispersed. 

The letter demanded these agencies quickly provide Congress information on the name and location of each city or town where illegal immigrants have been sent or were provided funding for travel to or were allowed travel by their own or private funding along with the total number of immigrants who were allowed to travel there. 

On April 20, 2021, Harsbarger signed a follow up letter that highlighted the severe security gaps posed by the Biden Administration’s manufactured process to bypass security requirements and board migrants on domestic flights to destinations across the country.

On June 16, 2021, Harshbarger joined Rep. Byron Donalds’ and others in continuing to demand answers from HHS as recent reports indicate that taxpayer dollars appropriated for COVID-19 related health initiatives were spent housing and transporting unaccompanied immigrant children all across the U.S.

Harshbarger joined Republican colleagues serving on the House Committee on Homeland Security in expressing opposition to President Biden over his firing of U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott. 

Chief Scott, appointed to his position by President Trump, oversaw domestic border security operations between Ports of Entry, including thousands of miles along the Southwest Border. 

In June, Harshbarger introduced H.R. 4363, the DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021. 

In July, the bill advanced from the House Committee on Homeland Security where it now awaits consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives. The bill seeks to establish a timely and public reporting requirement for key DHS contract awards. 

Harshbarger has also co-sponsored the following legislation:

H.Res. 493, Biden’s damaging and ongoing border crisis to be addressed with censure.

H.R. 4828, the Border Security Act for America of 2021. This legislation includes comprehensive measures to bring back President Trump’s effective border security policies. Additional measures include bolstering border staffing to better support law enforcement and modernizing and enhancing the use of technology to aid them.

H.R. 2076, the COVID-19 Border Protection (CBP) Act. This legislation would direct DHS to create a strategy to ensure no individual in custody is released into the community during a public health emergency related to coronavirus if the individual may have a communicable disease relating to any public health emergency.

H.R. 2321, the Irregular Migration Surge Border Response Resilience Act. This legislation directs DHS to establish a plan to respond to irregular migration surges at the border and to establish an irregular migration surge border response.

H.R. 471, the PAUSE Act. This act requires Title 42, established under the leadership of President Trump, to remain in effect until multiple health and safety factors are met to protect the United States from further COVID-19 infection and spread. This bill would prevent new COVID-19 positive individuals from entering via our land and sea borders with Canada and Mexico. To further stake her support, on April 20, 2021, Harshbarger signed a House discharge petition whereby if a majority of representatives (at least 218) sign, it would force the bill out of committee and to the House floor for a vote. 

H.R. 1091, the Stopping Border Surges Act. This act closes loopholes in immigration laws that serve as incentives to aliens to attempt to enter the United States unlawfully.

H.R. 398, the No Asylum for Criminals Act. This legislation would prohibit anyone with a criminal record from being eligible for seeking asylum in the U.S. This would not only make America safer by keeping dangerous criminals out, but it would also alleviate some of the backlog that is overburdening our asylum system.

H.R. 3403, the See the Crisis Act. This legislation sought to effectively ground Vice President Harris, keeping her from using Air Force Two and other taxpayer-funded resources for international travel until she visits the border crisis and speaks with CBP and law enforcement officials on the ground. Following the visit, this bill requires a report back to Congress. Harshbarger signed onto this bill when her previous letter to President Biden following his appointment of Harris to “lead the efforts” on the border did not receive a response. 

H.R. 3484, the Illegal Immigrant Assistance Prohibition Act. This act would block federal grant funds from going to states that assist illegal immigrants.

H.R. 2209, the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act. This legislation would help continue to address the opioid epidemic. In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) used its emergency scheduling authority to place certain fentanyl analogues onto Schedule I of the list of controlled substances and this legislation would make that permanent. The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that fentanyl is often mixed with other drugs even though users may be unaware of it. Mexican cartels are increasingly responsible for producing and supplying fentanyl and China remains a key source of supply for the precursor chemicals that Mexican cartels use to produce the large amounts of fentanyl being smuggled into the United States. 

H.J.Res. 50, which reserves a state’s right to repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from the overwhelming and “imminent danger” posed by paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels who have seized control of our southern border. 

Harshbarger has also co-sponsored several pieces of legislation that aim to complete President Trump’s border wall.

H.R. 58, the Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act. This legislation would direct the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to establish a fund where funds may only be used for planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining the barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. It would also require the construction of physical barriers and roads along the entire U.S. border with Mexico, rather than the 700 miles required by current law.

H.R. 2729, the Finish the Wall Act. This legislation further stakes Harshbarger’s position that construction must immediately resume on the border wall system along with the international border between the United States and Mexico to secure the border, enforce the rule of law, and expend already appropriated funds as mandated by Congress.

On March 23, 2021, Harshbarger joined congressional colleagues in adding her name to a letter addressed to the Comptroller General of the U.S. Government & Accountability Office (GAO) requesting GAO’s investigation and legal opinion on the actions of the Biden Administration to suspend southern border wall construction and to order a freeze of funds provided by Congress for that purpose, which she and her colleagues believe violated the Impoundment Control Act.

In April, Harshbarger also signed a letter addressed to Congressional Leadership on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure requesting that as the Committee considers legislation to invest in our nation’s infrastructure, measures to ensure the completed construction of the southern border wall and complementary border security infrastructure must be included.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com