WASHINGTON, DC — Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) and Jared Golden (ME-2), the bipartisan co-leads of the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act, released the following statement as the House begins consideration of a foreign aid package and border security legislation: 

“We have for months worked to keep up the pressure on our colleagues to act on foreign aid and the crisis at our Southern border because secure borders, ours and those of our democratic allies, are crucial to the defense of democracy against foreign actors hostile to America — whether they are Mexican drug cartels, Hamas terrorists, or dictators and autocrats in Iran, Russia, and China,” the Congressmen said. 

“Since we introduced the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act in February, that pressure has resulted in appropriations to deploy the largest Border Patrol workforce our country has ever seen, hire new CBP officers to stop the flow of fentanyl from Mexico that is killing our children, and increase funding for security technology and local law enforcement in border states. 

“Now we are on track to score another victory for borders and democracy. The foreign aid supplemental taken up by the House today provides aid for our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and includes provisions we have fought for, including identical funding levels, a similar new loan structure for some of the foreign aid and the use of seized Russian assets to offset some of the cost. Its passage will tell the world that the United States will not stand by as dictators, terrorists, and totalitarians seek to expand their influence around the world. 

“We will continue to push our colleagues and the president to take commonsense actions to secure the border, such as Congress reinstating Title 42-like expulsion authority and the president using his existing power to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy. Today’s introduction on the House floor of the End the Border Catastrophe Act helps maintain momentum for real action from Congress and the president.”