Katko Applauds Introduction of Senate Companion to Bill Tackling Border Surges

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, today applauded the introduction of the Border Response Resilience Act by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). The bill is the Senate companion to H.R. 2321, which was introduced by Ranking Member Katko and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in April 2021.

The bills require DHS and federal partners to develop an agile plan to address border surges and ensure resources are available to respond when certain thresholds are met.

“The crisis at the border continues to overwhelm our border patrol agents and local law enforcement partners,” said Ranking Member Katko. “By planning for these surges before they happen, we can ensure our agents continue performing their national security duties, rather than be pulled away to manage the humanitarian response. Every day, our border patrol agents face difficult situations with extreme professionalism, and the least we can do is ensure they have the resources necessary to do their jobs. I applaud Senators Portman and Kelly for introducing the Senate version of this important legislation, and I look forward to working with them to advance it in both chambers.”

While enactment of this critical legislation would add much needed certainty to our ability to respond quickly and effectively to border surges, Katko cautions that the Biden Administration still must reverse the misguided policy decisions which created this crisis to begin with and invest in strong border security.

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