Scott, Senate Colleagues Demand Pay for Border Patrol During Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and his Senate colleagues in introducing the Keep Our Border Agents Paid Act. As the government heads toward a shutdown, this bill would ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and contractors continue to be paid.

The surge in recent border crossings in Eagle Pass, Texas, and elsewhere along the Southern border has highlighted the critical role Border Patrol plays. Twice this week, daily border crossings reached over 11,000, breaking the record for the number of crossings in a single day.

Joining Senators Tim Scott and Rick Scott in cosponsoring this legislation were Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss).

This legislation is endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council.

“Our Border Patrol agents bear the full weight of President Biden’s open border policy, met with an onslaught of illegal immigrants every day,” said Senator Tim Scott. “Now more than ever, we need our agents to keep our nation safe. The least we can do is ensure these brave men and women are paid for their invaluable work and continued sacrifice.”

“I have been to the southern border three times since President Biden took office, and the crisis is worse each time I visit,” said Senator Rick Scott. “Failed leadership created this crisis and we cannot allow the border to go unchecked, and our border patrol agents to go unpaid, due to a failure of Washington to fund government.”

BACKGROUND

Senator Scott’s work to address the border crisis includes:

• Championing the Secure the Border Act of 2023 —the most comprehensive border security legislation in decades. The Secure the Border Act addresses the Biden administration’s open border crisis by increasing the number of Border Patrol Agents, resuming construction on the border wall, tightening asylum standards, criminalizing visa overstays and prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security from using its app to assist illegal immigrants;
• Fighting for his Securing Our Border Act, which redirects $15 billion of funding passed by Democrats to hire 87,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents and utilizes it to bolster security measures along our southern border; and
• Condemning the Department of Defense’s decision to auction off approximately $260 million worth of border wall construction materials.