Hoosier State Today

On June 7, 2024, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with 44 Senate colleagues, introduced a bipartisan Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution aimed at overturning a Biden Administration rule concerning unaccompanied migrant children. The CRA seeks to enforce reforms in the government’s Unaccompanied Children (UC) program.

"Last year, I joined my Senate Republican colleagues in warning the Biden Administration that its policies were harmful and failed to protect vulnerable children. Unfortunately, the Administration moved forward to finalize this rule, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis at our southern border. Our resolution aims to stop this program," said Senator Young.

"The Biden administration ignored warnings from Congress and the Inspector General that its policies put children at risk and instead moved to finalize its current rule. Biden’s Health and Human Services Department has lost tens of thousands of vulnerable kids and handed over many others to abusers and criminals. This exploitation is one of the most heartbreaking tragedies the Biden Border Crisis has created. Since the Biden administration has refused to lift a finger to fix this problem, it’s now up to Congress to put a stop to it," said Senator Grassley.

Migrant children who enter the U.S. illegally without an adult are detained and placed in the UC program, managed by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The UC program is designed to reunify unaccompanied migrant children with family members or other trusted adult sponsors residing in the U.S. The federal government allocates billions of taxpayer dollars through contractors and grantees for operating this program under HHS's policies.

The finalized HHS rule from April has been criticized for codifying practices deemed harmful by some lawmakers. Senator Young had previously joined 38 Senate colleagues in condemning HHS’s then-proposed rule as "wholly unworkable," urging HHS to discard it or face a resolution of disapproval.

In addition to Senators Young and Grassley, co-sponsors of the resolution include Senators Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Cindy Hyde-Smith, (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford(R-Okla.) Katie Britt(R-Ala.) Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.) Markwayne Mullin(R-Okla.) Marco Rubio(R-Fla.) Mike Lee(R-Utah) Josh Hawley(R-Mo.) Marsha Blackburn(R-Tenn.) Deb Fischer(R-Neb.) Jerry Moran(R-Kan.) Ted Cruz(R-Texas) Dan Sullivan(R-Alaska) Mike Rounds(R-S.D.) John Barrasso(R-Wyo.) John Thune(R-S.D.) John Boozman(R-Ark.) Tim Scott(R-S.C.).

Full text of the resolution can be found here.