Rashida Tlaib Casts Lone Vote Against Bill Requiring Reports on Cartel Smuggling Tunnels Under Border

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) cast the only no vote on a bill requiring an annual report to Congress on cross-border cartel smuggling tunnels. The bill, H.R. 495, passed the House Monday on a vote of 402-1.

“I thought for sure everyone was gonna vote yes on my bill this evening,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) posted on X following the vote. “402-1 is still pretty solid though.”

On Monday, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Subterranean Border Defense Act (H.R. 495). The bill simply requires an annual report to Congress from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the activities of cartels creating tunnels for drug and human smuggling and actions taken by the U.S. to stop them.

“Since 1990, officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the border, with an 80% increase in tunnel activity since 2008,” Crane said on the House floor. “As transnational criminal organizations continue to grow in both size and sophistication, illicit cross-border tunnels along the southwest border of the United States represent a significant and growing threat to national security.”

Democrat co-sponsor Lou Correra (C-CA) also spoke on the bill, saying, “I believe this bill is an important step in the right direction.”

No one spoke against the bill. In a rare bipartisan moment, 194 Democrats joined 208 Republicans in voting for the bill. The undervote came as ten Republicans and 19 Democrats abstained from voting. Tlaib cast the only “Nay.”

The following members are listed as co-sponsors of the bill:

• Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46]
• Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5]
• Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9]
• Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]
• Rep. Luttrell, Morgan [R-TX-8]
• Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5]
• Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3]
• Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4]

The bill moves on to the Senate for consideration.