[Senate Document 116-11]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




116th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - Senate Document 116-11

 
                          VETO--S.J. RES. 54

                                (PM 32)

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                     THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                               returning

   WITHOUT MY APPROVAL, S.J. RES. 54, A JOINT RESOLUTION THAT WOULD 
  TERMINATE THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 
  DECLARED IN PROCLAMATION 9844 OF FEBRUARY 15, 2019, PURSUANT TO THE 
NATIONAL EMERGENCIES ACT, REGARDING THE ONGOING CRISIS ON THE SOUTHERN 
                                 BORDER








              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]








                October 16, 2019.--Ordered to be printed

                               __________


                      U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                      
99-011                     WASHINGTON : 2019 

























To the Senate of the United States:
    I am returning herewith without my approval S.J. Res. 54, a 
joint resolution that would terminate the national emergency I 
declared in Proclamation 9844 of February 15, 2019, pursuant to 
the National Emergencies Act, regarding the ongoing crisis on 
our southern border. I am doing so for the same reasons I 
returned an identical resolution, H.J. Res. 46, to the House of 
Representatives without my approval on March 15, 2019.
    Proclamation 9844 has helped the Federal Government address 
the national emergency on our southern border. It has empowered 
my Administration's Government-wide strategy to counter large-
scale unlawful migration and to respond to corresponding 
humanitarian challenges through focused application of every 
Constitutional and statutory authority at our disposal. It has 
also facilitated the military's ongoing construction of 
virtually insurmountable physical barriers along hundreds of 
miles of our southern border.
    The southern border, however, continues to be a major entry 
point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics to 
come into our country. As explained in Proclamation 9844, in my 
veto message regarding H.J. Res. 46, and in congressional 
testimony from multiple Administration officials, the ongoing 
crisis at the southern border threatens core national security 
interests. In addition, security challenges at the southern 
border exacerbate an ongoing humanitarian crisis that threatens 
the well-being of vulnerable populations, including women and 
children.
    In short, the situation on our southern border remains a 
national emergency, and our Armed Forces are still needed to 
help confront it.
    Like H.J. Res. 46, S.J. Res. 54 would undermine the 
Government's ability to address this continuing national 
emergency. It would, among other things, impair the 
Government's capacity to secure the Nation's southern borders 
against unlawful entry and to curb the trafficking and 
smuggling that fuels the present humanitarian crisis.
    S.J. Res. 54 is also inconsistent with other recent 
congressional actions. For example, the Congress, in an 
overwhelmingly bipartisan manner, has provided emergency 
resources to address the crisis at the southern border. 
Additionally, the Congress has approved a budget framework that 
expressly preserves the emergency authorities my Administration 
is using to address the crisis.
    Proclamation 9844 was neither a new nor novel application 
of executive authority. Rather, it is the sixtieth Presidential 
invocation of the National Emergencies Act of 1976. It relies 
upon the same statutory authority used by both of the previous 
two Presidents to undertake more than 18 different military 
construction projects from 2001 through 2013. And it has 
withstood judicial challenge in the Supreme Court.
    Earlier this year, I vetoed H.J. Res. 46 because it was a 
dangerous resolution that would undermine United States 
sovereignty and threaten the lives and safety of countless 
Americans. It was, therefore, my duty to return it to the House 
of Representatives without my approval. It is similarly my 
duty, in order to protect the safety and security of our 
Nation, to return S.J. Res. 54 to the Senate without my 
approval.
                                                   Donald J. Trump.
    The White House, October 15, 2019.

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