RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) -- Congressman Sean Duffy stopped in Rhinelander Friday as part of four community town halls, saying he supports building a border wall with Mexico.
Duffy was asked if there was a possibility that the government could be shut down unless President Trump's proposal for a border wall is approved. He told WXPR, "We have a raucous scenario on our southern border. We have people storming(in) by way of caravan. This is a problem that most Americans see and most Americans want fixed. The President originally said I want $25 billion. $5 billion is what we put in the House bill. I don't want to see a shutdown, but I also want to see border security. I can't project what Democrats want to do. We'll get the bill out of the House and we'll see what Democrats in the Senate want to do."
Duffy thinks on that issue there still is room for compromise. But he says the Senate bill spending $1.6 billion for border security is not enough. Duffy says many people who legally immigrated, including his in-laws, want to see border security improved and immigration tightened.
Duffy says funding for the government was supposed to run out today, but Congress authorized funding into early 2019, largely because of the death of former President George H.W. Bush. He says the House budget and Senate version are far apart right now on border security.
"There's wide agreement on how we put that spending bill together. One issue we're having a disagreement on is border security. The President and the House have put $5 billion in our bill. The Senate has $1.6 billion in their bill. That's the difference. There's going be a showdown over the next several weeks of negotiations and conversations."
Duffy also said his bill de-listing wolves from federal management is stalled in the Senate and is likely to be inserted in the omnibus budget bill for debate.
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