This bill seeks to reimburse the State of Texas for expenses incurred while securing the southern border between 2021 and 2025 due to the Federal Government's lack of action.
Roger Williams
Representative
TX-25
The "Operation Lone Star Reimbursement Act" seeks to reimburse the State of Texas for the $11.1 billion in expenses incurred for securing the southern border between 2021 and 2025 due to the Federal Government's lack of action. The Governor of Texas must apply for reimbursement from the Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury, including a detailed list of expenses. The Secretary of Homeland Security will review the application and determine eligible expenses, and the Treasury Secretary will then pay Texas the reimbursable amount from unallocated funds.
Texas Wants Fed Money Back: New Bill Seeks Reimbursement for $11.1 Billion Spent on Border Security
The "Operation Lone Star Reimbursement Act" is pretty straightforward: Texas wants the federal government to pay it back for the billions spent securing the border between January 20, 2021, and January 19, 2025. The bill says the feds dropped the ball on border security, forcing Texas to step up with its own cash. Section 2 of the bill lays out that Texas has spent $11.1 billion of Texas taxpayer funding on border security.
Cash Back for Border Control
This section gets into the nitty-gritty of how Texas plans to get its money back. The bill, in Section 3, lays out the process: the Governor of Texas has to formally ask the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Treasury for the money. The application needs to list all the expenses Texas racked up securing the border. DHS then has 120 days to check it out and figure out what costs are legit. Once they decide, they tell Congress, and the Treasury Secretary has 60 days to cut Texas a check from any unallocated funds.
Real-World Impact
If you're a Texas taxpayer, this could mean your state gets a big chunk of change back – we're talking potentially billions. For example, if you're a small business owner who's been paying state taxes, some of that money went to border security. This bill aims to return those funds to the state, potentially freeing up cash for other state priorities, or maybe even easing the tax burden down the line. But it also means the federal government, and therefore all U.S. taxpayers, would be footing the bill for Texas's border operations. Think of it like a household: if one family member spends a ton on a home repair they say the whole family should've covered, this bill is them asking for everyone to chip in retroactively.
The Fine Print and Potential Roadblocks
While the idea is simple, there could be bumps. What if DHS says some of Texas's expenses don't qualify? There could be a fight over what counts as a "border security" expense. Also, finding billions in "unallocated funds" might be tough. This whole thing hinges on the federal government agreeing that Texas's spending was necessary and appropriate, which, given the often-heated debates about border policy, isn't a sure thing. The bill highlights an ongoing tension: states taking matters into their own hands when they think the federal government isn't doing enough, and the financial implications that follow.