Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler was in Springfield Thursday to tour the Missouri Air National Guard facility where military helicopters are repaired. While there, she commented on President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for a barrier along the US-Mexico border.
Hartzler, a Republican, represents Missouri's fourth district in Congress; that's just north of the seventh district that Springfield is part of. But she sits on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee and took questions from the press before touring the guard facility here.
She said she supports the president's decision to declare a national emergency at the southern border becuase of the amount of illegal drugs and criminals entering the U.S. there.
When asked if she supports using military construction funds to pay for that barrier, Hartzler said she is taking a "wait-and-see" approach to find out which projects would be affected by that delay in funding.
The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the authority to appropriate funds; however, federal law also says the president can take over some of that responsibility during a national emergency. You can see a list of the president's emergency powers compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice here.
Hartzler said she does not see Trump's actions as a case of executive overreach.