[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 201 (Thursday, December 20, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10506-H10507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STANDING WITH THE PRESIDENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Arrington) for the remainder of the hour.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to address this body and commend 
my Republican colleagues for standing with this President.
  We are facing a national security crisis on our own homeland, at our 
borders, and our Commander in Chief has pleaded with us for the 
resources and tools necessary to secure the border and to protect the 
American people.
  The President understands his first job and the first job of the 
Federal Government, which is to keep its citizens safe. He understands 
and I believe most Americans understand that the current situation is 
anything but safe.
  Mr. Speaker, I am from the great State of Texas. Being a State along 
the border, I can tell you it is absolutely chaotic. This President has 
been hamstrung and for too long we have let people pour into this 
country illegally and we have allowed criminals and gang members and 
criminal activity and drugs. A lot of bad stuff comes over here and 
wreaks havoc on our communities on account of us being derelict in our 
duty to do our first job to provide for the common defense.
  So, Mr. Speaker, this President has come along at such a time as 
this--a strong man, a strong leader, who ran on an agenda to put 
America first and the American people first. That is exactly what he 
has done. I have never seen a politician more hell-bent, more doggedly 
committed to delivering on what he promised.
  At the center of those promises and that agenda that he ran on was 
securing the border and building the wall. I am one who believes that 
comprehensive border security is more than a wall. I believe it is 
technology. I believe it is boots on the ground. It is a number of 
things.
  If we are going to truly be effective in the long run, we have got to 
fight this battle on a number of fronts. I believe that the driver of 
illegal immigration is supply and demand. As long as we have demand in 
this world for a better life and for the job opportunity and the 
services that we provide in this country, and as long as we provide the 
supply of jobs and services to folks who come here illegally, they will 
continue to come.
  I do believe that, no matter how high you build a wall, or how long, 
you have got to turn off the magnets that are drawing people here. 
Chief among them are hiring people who are not in this country legally. 
I welcome the freedom-loving, law-abiding immigrant. This is a Nation 
of immigrants. But I will only welcome them if and when they respect 
our laws, our sovereignty, and the safety of our citizens.
  We have a process. It is not perfect. We should work on it. We should 
improve it. But we have a process by which you can legally enter this 
country, and a million people do that every year. Millions more are 
standing in line to get a piece of this incredible land of opportunity 
and all the blessings of liberty that this country offers.
  So, understand this. The American story and the story of the 
immigrant are indistinguishable, inseparable. I am proud that we are 
the leading Nation in terms of immigration and welcoming the immigrant 
and that we continue to circulate the new blood of those who are hungry 
for freedom and opportunity into the system, into this country's 
bloodstream. It is part of the greatness of America, no doubt.
  But we are also a Nation of laws. As the President has said, without 
borders, you don't have a country. Without security, you don't have 
freedom. So we must uphold the laws of the land. We must fix the broken 
pieces of the immigration system. We must close the loopholes. We must 
turn off the magnets. And, yes, we must build a wall, a fence, and 
whatever physical barriers make sense. That physical barrier, that 
wall, that fence is a fundamental component of comprehensive border 
security.

  Most of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have already 
voted to

[[Page H10507]]

provide resources: $1.6 billion in the last budget. The leader of the 
Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, has voted for 700 miles of fencing 
along the border. So he, too, has committed and understands and 
appreciates the need for physical barriers along the border where they 
make sense.
  I think we are long overdue to put some common sense in this United 
States Congress. I am proud that my colleagues, again, on the House 
side, my Republican colleagues, have continued to drive the agenda of 
America first and keeping America safe as the first and foremost 
responsibility of this Federal Government all the way to the end of 
this 115th Congress.
  Today was a proud day for me to come alongside of my colleagues and 
this President and vote for the funding that he has requested for that 
fundamental component of border security in the wall. I am proud to 
have done that. I am grateful that we have a leadership that listened. 
This morning, we had a wonderful meeting. It was wonderful because the 
leadership listened. Our majority leader, Kevin McCarthy; our whip,  
Steve Scalise, our outgoing Speaker, Paul Ryan, listened and allowed 
the Members to drive the strategy and the decision today to put that 
funding bill on the floor, to vote for it, and send it over to the 
Senate. That is our job.
  I am proud of my colleagues' passionate and very compelling pleas to 
the leadership and to our team to make that vote happen today. Today is 
a great day for America's security. It is a great day for border 
States. It is a great day for the citizens who expect their government 
to do its first job.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I am grateful for the opportunity to have served 
in this 115th Congress with the likes of Jack Bergman, Representative 
Claudia Tenney, and so many more. I am proud of our freshmen class for 
restoring civility, the theme of our class with our Democratic 
colleagues, and I am proud of all the results.
  In west Texas, leadership, at the end of the day, is about results. 
If you don't deliver results, you cannot claim to be a leader. Whether 
it was rebuilding military or unleashing the full potential of this 
economy through tax reform and regulatory relief or improving services 
to our veterans or it was defending our fundamental God-given rights, 
the rule of law, the Constitution, and traditional American values, we 
have done what we said we would do in this House as Republicans, as 
conservatives, and as Americans first. I am proud of that.
  God bless these United States of America, my colleagues, and go west 
Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney).
  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you, again, to my 
colleague, Jodey Arrington, of west Texas, for his terrific remarks. 
Yes, we did accomplish basically everything we set out to do in the 
115th Congress.
  I would be remiss if I didn't mention one more thing that Mr. 
Arrington just referenced, the gentleman from Texas, is that every one 
of us contributed in the freshmen class to perpetuating and finding a 
new part of our commitment to civility.
  I just wanted to mention our colleague from Florida, Mr. Charlie 
Crist, who actually came up with these nice bands that so many of us 
wear. It says: Practice the Golden Rule. It is emblematic. We wear them 
because we are endeavoring to meet our pledge for our commitment to 
civility.
  I hope that you all and Congressman Crist and everyone continues on 
this great path next year, including both sides of the aisle. I hope 
everybody works on their commitment to civility.
  But I want to say thank you again to my colleagues, also to our 
Speaker pro tempore, the great president of our class, the amazing 
General Jack Bergman, who is now a Member of Congress representing 
Michigan. I am really honored to be among some of the great people that 
serve here. I want people to rest assured there are good people in 
Congress. There really are.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York. 
Again, we salute her service and we are so proud to have served with 
her, if only for one term. But, again, this is not the last that we 
have seen of the gentlewoman and her service to this great country. We 
will certainly carry on our friendship for years and years to come.
  What a special bond our classmates have, and what a unique privilege 
our constituents and people back home have given us.
  And I know the gentlewoman cherishes that. I know she has stewarded 
that. I wish they could see the gentlewoman every day, because they are 
already proud, but they don't know the half of it.
  So God bless Claudia Tenney and all the new ventures that she will 
undertake in the weeks, months, and years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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