Lawmaker introduces bill he says will help fund border wall
A Tennessee Republican introduced a bill this week that he says will help pay for President Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the southern border of the United States.
When Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-paris, filed HB 562 on Monday, the legislation appeared innocuous. A brief summary of the measure says it would “establish a fee imposed on customers for transmitting money through certain entities” and require the state’s revenue department to collect such fees.
But on Wednesday, Griffey said in a news release his proposal was squarely aimed at helping fund the president’s border wall.
Griffey said his bill would impose fees on any money transfers from Tennessee to Mexico and set aside such fees for the border wall.
“Congress has failed to provide Trump with funding for his border wall,” he said in a statement. “If Congress is unwilling to act, it is incumbent upon individual states to do so.”
Trump has continued to push for funding a border wall, which is estimated to cost $5.7 billion.
Several other states, including West Virginia, Arizona and Montana, have had similar border wall funding proposals introduced in their state legislatures.
As of publication, there is no Senate sponsor of Griffey’s bill.
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.