Title: No Taxpayer Funding for the Wall Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
No Taxpayer Funding for the Wall Act
This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to construct physical barriers or related infrastructure along the southern U.S. border by federal departments or states that receive federal funding. The President is authorized to enter into a treaty where a foreign country agrees to pay for constructing such a physical barrier.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall conduct yearly audits of federal departments and states that receive federal funding to ensure compliance with this prohibition. The bill authorizes penalties against departments or states when the GAO is unable to confirm compliance.
The bill directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report the budgetary impact of any executive order or presidential memorandum related to border security issued from FY2019 to FY2023. OMB shall also establish a public website tracking non-federal funds, including those received from foreign governments, for building physical barriers along the southern U.S. border.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 968 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 968

To prohibit the use of Federal funds to build a wall along the southern 
                    border, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2019

 Ms. Moore (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. 
 Wilson of Florida, Ms. Speier, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
 Security, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the use of Federal funds to build a wall along the southern 
                    border, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Taxpayer Funding for the Wall 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The construction of a wall along the southern border is 
        estimated to cost tens of billions of taxpayer dollars.
            (2) On June 16, 2015, in New York, NY, while announcing his 
        candidacy for President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump 
        stated ``I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls 
        better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very 
        inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern 
        border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my 
        words.''.
            (3) On July 31, 2015 in Turnberry, Scotland, during an 
        interview on CNN, Mr. Donald Trump stated ``I will build the 
        wall and Mexico's going to pay for it and they will be happy to 
        pay for it. Because Mexico is making so much money from the 
        United States that that's going to be peanuts and all these 
        other characters say, `Oh, they won't pay, they won't pay.' 
        They don't know the first thing about how to negotiate. Trust 
        me, Mexico will pay for it.''.
            (4) On February 25, 2016, in Houston, TX, during a 
        Republican Presidential Debate, Mr. Donald Trump stated, ``We 
        have a trade deficit with Mexico of $58 billion dollars a year, 
        and that doesn't include all the drugs that are pouring across 
        and destroying our country. We're going to make them pay for 
        that wall.''.
            (5) On August 23, 2015, during an interview on Justice with 
        Judge Jeanine, Mr. Donald Trump stated, ``We're going to build 
        a wall. It's going to be a great wall. Mexico is going to pay 
        for it.''.
            (6) On August 31, 2016, in Phoenix, AZ, during a rally, Mr. 
        Donald Trump stated, ``We will build a great wall along the 
        southern border and Mexico will pay for the wall. One hundred 
        percent. They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for 
        the wall.''.
            (7) On January 10, 2017, General John Kelly, President-
        elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, 
        stated during his Senate confirmation hearing, ``A physical 
        barrier in and of itself--certainly as a military person that 
        understands defense and defenses--a physical barrier in and of 
        itself will not do the job, it has to be really a layered 
        defense.''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF CERTAIN FEDERAL FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Federal prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, no Federal department or agency, including 
        the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of 
        Defense, may obligate or expend any Federal funds (including 
        any funds previously appropriated for such purpose or any fee 
        revenue generated by the Department of Homeland Security or any 
        other Federal department or agency) to carry out section 102 of 
        the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 
        of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103 note) or any other related provision of 
        law, or to otherwise build a border fence, related physical 
        barriers or infrastructure, or wall along the southern border 
        of the United States, including to carry out any activities 
        related to such construction.
            (2) State prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, a State that has received or receives any Federal 
        funding in the form of a grant from the Department of Homeland 
        Security or any other Federal department or agency may not use 
        such funding to carry out section 102 of the Illegal 
        Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 
        U.S.C. 1103 note) or any other related provision of law, or to 
        otherwise build a border fence, related physical barriers or 
        infrastructure, or wall along the southern border of the United 
        States, including to carry out any activities related to such 
        construction.
            (3) Foreign payment required.--The President is authorized 
        to enter into a binding, written, and enforceable treaty, 
        approved by the Senate, with a foreign country to pay for the 
        costs associated with carrying out section 102 of the Illegal 
        Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 
        U.S.C. 1103 note) or any other related provision of law, or to 
        otherwise build a border fence, related physical barriers or 
        infrastructure, or wall along the southern border of the United 
        States, including to carry out any activities related to such 
        construction.
    (b) Audit and Penalty.--
            (1) Audit.--Not later than 180 days after the end of each 
        fiscal year, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
        conduct an audit of each Federal department and agency under 
        subsection (a)(1) and each State that has received or is 
        receiving any Federal funding under subsection (a)(2) to assess 
        compliance with the prohibition under such subsections for each 
        such preceding fiscal year.
            (2) Penalty.--If the Comptroller General of the United 
        States is unable to confirm the compliance with the 
        prohibitions under subsection (a) by a Federal department or 
        agency or by a State, as the case may be, pursuant to an audit 
        conducted under paragraph (1), notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law--
                    (A) in the case of Federal department or agency, 
                the Office of Management and Budget may not obligate or 
                expend more than 25 percent of funds authorized to be 
                appropriated for such Office for the fiscal year during 
                which such audit is conducted, until such time as the 
                Comptroller General is able to confirm such compliance; 
                and
                    (B) in the case of a State, the heads of 
                appropriate Federal departments and agencies shall take 
                such steps as may be necessary to reduce the amount of 
                Federal funds that are made available to such State and 
                to require such State to repay such amounts previously 
                made available, as appropriate, until such time as the 
                Comptroller General is able to confirm such compliance.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
funding prohibition under this section should not interfere with the 
responsibility of the Secretary of Homeland Security to take actions as 
may be required to secure the southern border of the United States.

SEC. 4. OVERSIGHT.

    The Inspector General of the Federal department or agency 
responsible for carrying out the treaty referred to in section 3(a)(3) 
shall oversee the use of funds received and expended pursuant to such 
treaty to carry out section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103 note) or any other 
related provision of law or to otherwise build a border fence, related 
physical barriers or infrastructure, or wall along the southern border 
of the United States, including to carry out any activities related to 
such construction. Such oversight shall include oversight regarding the 
use of high risk contractor practices, including limited or sole source 
contracting, any cost overruns, significant delays in contract 
execution, and departmental contract management and oversight of such 
funds.

SEC. 5. BUDGETARY IMPACT.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall include a statement of budgetary impact, including costs, 
benefits, and revenues, as a result of and related to any executive 
order or presidential memorandum issued relating to border security 
during the period of fiscal year 2019 through fiscal year 2023.
    (b) Contents.--Any statement under subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) a narrative summary of the budgetary impact of such 
        order or memorandum on the Federal Government;
            (2) the impact on mandatory and discretionary obligations 
        and outlays as the result of such order or memorandum, listed 
        by Federal department and agency, for each year in the 5-
        fiscal-year period beginning in fiscal year 2019; and
            (3) the impact on revenues of the Federal Government as the 
        result of such order or memorandum over the 5-fiscal-year 
        period beginning in fiscal year 2019.

SEC. 6. WEBSITE.

    The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish 
a publicly available website to track and display funds received from 
non-Federal sources, including foreign governments, to carry out 
section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103 note) or any other related 
provision of law or to otherwise build a border fence, related physical 
barriers or infrastructure, or wall along the southern border, 
including to carry out any activities related to such construction. 
Such website shall be updated at least monthly to accurately reflect 
data on funds received by source and by date and on the obligation and 
expenditure of such funds.
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