Katko: Biden Budget Fails Americans Again

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the release of President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposal.

“Once again President Biden’s budget misses the mark on addressing our most pressing homeland security challenges. As our country faces numerous crises of the Biden administration’s own making, it is unfathomable how they continue to fall so short in securing America’s borders.

“Under President Biden’s failed border policies, a record-breaking number of migrants have illegally crossed the border, and the fentanyl crisis has only continued to grow worse, placing a tremendous strain on our frontline law enforcement and communities across the country. It’s terrifying to think how much worse the crisis at our southern border needs to get in order to get any attention from President Biden or ‘Border Czar’ Vice President Harris.

“The FY23 budget once again fails to include funding for a wall at our southern border. Every time I have visited the southwest border, I heard over again from our frontline law enforcement on the ground that the border wall worked. This budget fails to give our border patrol agents the tools they need to secure our sovereign border. With each passing day that the Biden administration ignores the crisis at the border, it gets that much harder to address.

“Additionally, I have long called for responsible, incremental growth at CISA. The fact is we are asking CISA, the private sector, and our state and local partners to defend against nation-state actors. We need to equip CISA with the tools not just to compete, but to win in the fight against our adversaries. This budget request would have been commendable a year ago, but the current cyber threat landscape has changed drastically and requires more. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to ensure that we put CISA back on track to be the $5 billion agency it needs to be in order to secure our nation’s cyber infrastructure.

“This budget clearly demonstrates where President Biden’s priorities lie and they aren’t in securing the American people from the numerous threats to the homeland. This is unacceptable and the American people deserve better.”

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