[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 7 (Monday, January 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H537-H543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BORDER SECURITY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2019, the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, it is a sobering time to be here
because we are in the 24th day of a government shutdown, something that
none of us wanted, and something that could be fixed very, very
quickly. I am hopeful that it will.
We have heard some speeches tonight from individuals calling on the
President to open up the government. But the reality is that the House,
in December, voted to fully fund the government, and all of the
Democrats voted no, and the Senate voted no.
[[Page H538]]
So here we are. We voted to keep the government open, and we provided
border security at the same time. We need to do that.
Tonight, I think it is important that we have a discussion with the
American people about why we think it is important to secure our
border. Can we do both? Can we find $5 billion in an almost $4 trillion
budget to secure our border? Can we open our government and make sure
our government employees have the funds that they need to pay their
bills? Absolutely, we can do that.
I am ready to work with those on the other side of the aisle. I find
it so interesting how they have changed their position. I just want to
review with everyone listening tonight about the position of some of
those who are now, all of a sudden, voting no.
During the previous administration, all 54 Democrats in the Senate
voted to double the length of a new border fence with Mexico, double
the number of border agents to 40,000, and spend $40 billion on border
security. All the Democrats in the Senate, in the last administration,
voted for $40 billion for border security just a few years ago.
Before that, in 2006, 64 Democrats in the House joined Republicans to
pass the Secure Fence Act to build 700 miles of fencing along the
border. In the Senate, when we had 64 Democrats join the House to pass
it, to build 700 miles of fencing, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and
Chuck Schumer all voted for it.
Then Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer voted in favor of the
2007 DHS appropriations bill, which included $1 billion for fencing
along the southwest border. The same Speaker who said it is immoral now
voted for money for fencing just a few years ago. I find that
interesting.
And Chuck Schumer voted for it, and he said: ``Illegal immigration is
wrong, plain and simple. Until the American people are convinced that
we will stop future flows of illegal immigration, we will make no
progress on dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants who are
here now and on rationalizing our system of legal immigration.''
Then he said: ``Any immigration solution must recognize that we must
do as much as we can to gain control of our borders as soon as
possible.''
This is the same Chuck Schumer who now thinks that we shouldn't have
it, but just a few years ago he did support it.
So why are we fighting to secure our border? It is because we care
about people.
There is a drug crisis in this country, and the drugs are coming
across our southern border into our States. I know they are in
Missouri. We have to stop it.
I had the chance, in October, to go to a port of entry down in
Arizona, the Nogales-Mariposa port of entry just south of Tucson. What
I saw there was eye-opening.
What I saw is that we are at war there. It is a war between the drug
cartels and our dedicated Border Patrol and Customs officials down
there on the ground. Just last year, they confiscated 1\1/2\ million
pounds of drugs, and they talked about how they had no idea how many
more millions of pounds they didn't stop, but we know.
All of us here tonight who talk to our law enforcement at home, who
talk to our families who have lost their children due to a heroin
overdose, who talk about how much cocaine and meth is in our
communities, those are the drugs that they didn't catch.
Last year, 72,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. Now think
about that. That is more who died of a drug overdose than died during
the entire Vietnam war. It is more people than last year died, in
total, of car accidents and homicides. If you put all of the traffic
fatalities and all of the homicides together, it doesn't equal the
number of people who have died from drug overdoses. We have to stop
this.
Part of the drugs coming across is fentanyl. They caught 1.2 tons of
this deadly drug. That is enough, they tell me, to kill every person in
the United States. It takes only 2 milligrams of fentanyl to overdose,
so that could kill that many people.
In 2018, Customs and Border Patrol seized enough cocaine to fill more
than 141 1-ton pickups. I wanted to make this poster because we all
know what a pickup looks like, and you think of a 1-ton pickup. If you
can picture, here are 141 of these 1-ton pickup trucks full of cocaine.
That is how much that our Border Patrol caught. We don't know how much
more they didn't catch.
Also, they caught enough methamphetamine to fill 124 pickups, 124
tons, and over 3 tons of heroin. In fact, 90 percent of the heroin in
the United States comes across the southern border.
Now, we have an opioid crisis in this country, and I am doing
everything I can in my district, and I know many of us are, doing what
we can to address the opioid crisis. Heroin is a type of opioid;
fentanyl is a type of opioid; and 90 percent of that is coming across
our southern border.
What that ends up being is it ends up impacting people. Here is a
poster of some people who have been impacted by the drug crisis we have
in our country.
This mother and son, on the far right-hand side, she was addicted to
meth, gave birth to her little boy, and he was drug addicted at birth
and went through withdrawal.
The young man in the middle, Eamon, he passed away, sadly, due to a
heroin overdose.
And Kristin and her daughter, Reese, she lost custody of Reese
because of her drug addiction. She is trying desperately to get off
drugs, but she has lost custody.
We have a crisis in our foster care system now because of the drug
problem. We are having trouble finding enough individuals to become
foster parents. There are so many children who have been taken away
from their parents because of their drug addiction, and it is not safe
for them to be home.
We have a drug crisis, and we have tons, literally tons, of drugs
pouring across our southern border. That is why we have to find $5.7
billion in order to secure our border.
But it is more than just the drugs. It is also our safety. It is our
security.
Just last year, our Customs and Border Patrol interdicted 17,000
individuals who had a criminal record. That is how many they caught
with a criminal record. But, sadly, there are a lot of people who make
it across, who are here in our country because we don't have a border,
and they end up hurting our families.
Just last month, our hearts broke for Officer Singh and his family, a
police officer from California who did it right, who came here legally
from Fiji, and whose dream was to become a police officer. He went
through the training. He learned English, his third language. He went
to the police academy, driving 4 hours every day for months in order to
complete his police academy.
He was so proud to become a police officer, and he was a good one. He
was respected; he was amazing; and he was brave. He was a legal
immigrant we are so proud of.
Then, sadly, right around Christmas, he was shot and killed by an
illegal immigrant, someone who had come across the southern border.
And you wonder why we think it is important to secure the border. It
is because of heartbreaking stories like this. It is because of
families who are losing their children to drugs. That is why we have to
find the money, and we can do it.
My colleagues and I tonight want to share why this is so important,
and why it is important that we get this done now.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs.
Miller). She is new, but we are so thrilled that she is here. I would
like her to come and share a little bit on this very important issue
from West Virginia's perspective.
Mrs. MILLER. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight with my colleagues to
speak about the important issue of border security.
We are in the midst of a crisis on our southern border, and it is
time for our colleagues across the aisle to stop playing politics and
to start focusing on our national security.
While Washington Democrats toe the party line and oppose President
Trump and anything he supports, our Nation is under assault from
unchecked illegal immigration, from terrorists, from human traffickers,
and from drug smugglers.
Sadly, as West Virginia and the Nation are battling an opioid
epidemic,
[[Page H539]]
the Democrats continue to turn a blind eye.
In the last year alone, the amount of fentanyl and heroin confiscated
at our southern border was enough to kill every man, woman, and child
in the United States.
The security of our Nation rests with a strong border. We need to
build this wall.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the opportunity to discuss
this important issue.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman's comments
tonight. It is a serious matter before us right now as a nation. That
is why we are having this conversation tonight.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr.
LaMalfa), and I thank him for being here this evening. I think he is
the first person, certainly tonight and the other night we had a
discussion, from California to be here, so I appreciate him coming. I
would like to hear about what he thinks about where we are at and what
we need to do.
Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative
Hartzler, for having this Special Order tonight and for allowing me to
be part of it.
I join her in my great concern for the crisis that is happening at
our southern border. I agree with our President that it is a
humanitarian and national security crisis that has been ignored for far
too long.
Being from California, I can name three names, just right off the top
of my head, that are the sign of our porous borders and the tragedy we
have seen from them.
We all remember Kate Steinle, killed in San Francisco with her
family; Jamiel Shaw from southern California, needlessly killed; and,
as Mrs. Hartzler mentioned, most recently, Ronil Singh from central
California, a police officer, as she mentioned, who did it the right
way, serving in honor to help keep our streets safe, all mowed down by
illegal immigrants in our country.
{time} 1945
Now, some will downplay this. Some downplay the necessity of a strong
fence at our southern border. There areas of our border that already
have barriers that are significantly better at preventing illegal
trafficking.
In San Diego, illegal traffic has decreased by 92 percent since a
physical barrier was constructed back in 1992. There are few situations
that I can think of where 92 percent isn't seen as a win and as
effective. The fact is that these barriers work.
There are long stretches of our southern border where even more
sturdy fences would be more effective. Many of my Democratic colleagues
seem to know this, but they are apparently more interested in
obstructing this President than in reaching a compromise to reopen our
government, secure our border, and provide disaster funding to the West
Coast and the Southern States.
Now, this is only a few years after passionate speeches by major
Democratic leaders and the votes to back it up. We saw, again, Mrs.
Clinton, President Obama, Senator Schumer, as well as President Bill
Clinton right at this dais a few years ago passionately speaking about
the need for this.
It is about giving Border Patrol agents the tools they need to be
successful in protecting our Nation's sovereignty from gunrunning,
human trafficking, and the mass flow of high-risk drugs, as so
eloquently outlined by Mrs. Hartzler, by all of these violent gangs
that have free access to our borders.
The complete and total lack of negotiation by our Democratic
colleagues is telling. They are not happy to reopen the government.
They are just fine with our porous border the way it is. I guess, does
this poll well?
I believe the overwhelming majority of Americans are not happy with
it. They want solutions for border security, for the coyotes who are
preying on those who are seeking passage into this country--unspeakable
things that happen to women in these crossings by these coyotes and
others who take advantage of them. Is that compassion?
We seek legal entry for people who seek work permits for agriculture
and other work needs and a DACA solution that we can all come to the
table and find common ground on. So, indeed, real negotiations need to
happen in good faith to reopen our government and secure our border, as
is our duty to our sovereign Nation that we swear an oath to protect.
I thank Mrs. Hartzler for yielding me the time.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman; he makes a great
point about the safety of the individuals who are coming here. Because
we have this open border, it is incentivizing people to make this very
dangerous trek.
Doctors Without Borders has reported that 30 percent of the women who
make this trek, who have given their money to coyotes to bring them
here, are sexually assaulted. Now, that should be upsetting for anyone.
That is another reason I believe we need to close the border and then
enable and help and work with individuals to come here legally.
I think the gentleman makes a great point, too, that there is a lot
of negotiation that could take place right now if the Democrats would
be willing to sit down. We do have the DACA situation. We do need more
workers. We do need to work on our visas. We need to reform our
immigration our laws so that individuals like Police Officer Singh and
others who want to come and contribute can come here easier.
We all have an immigration story, and I support legal immigration. So
let's sit down. Let's talk about the changes that need to be made to
our immigration system, but let's also secure our Nation.
Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Allen) to
share his thoughts on this matter, on why he thinks it is important
that we secure our border.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her efforts in
organizing this Special Order this evening.
As we continue to fight for the safety and security of our fellow
Americans, I want to highlight safety and security because that is our
number one role in this country. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight with
many of my colleagues to address the significance of this crisis we are
facing on our southern border.
Just last week, President Trump addressed the Nation from the Oval
Office for the first time about the importance of border security and
mentioned the devastating story of Robert Page, who was violently
murdered by an illegal immigrant in my home State of Georgia. A 76-
year-old grandfather's life was needlessly cut short at the hands of an
individual who was in our country illegally.
There are far too many families in our country who are coping with
tragic losses like this as a result of insufficient border security.
The bottom line is, whatever we are doing for border security, it is
not working. We must do more.
That is not to mention the illegal drugs that are coming into the
United States. As the President mentioned in his letter to Congress,
300 Americans are killed every week from heroin, and 90 percent of that
heroin comes across that southern border. This is a humanitarian and
national security crisis, and it must be addressed immediately, and it
must be done properly.
We are supposed to be a nation of laws. How can we stand by and let
lawlessness continue?
I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to keep the best
interests of the American citizens in mind as they continue to deny
funds for commonsense solutions to this growing crisis.
It is this body. It is the United States Congress that appropriates
funds. Then it is sent to the President. I say this: Congress,
appropriate the funds. Let's build a wall. Let's send the bill to the
President and reopen this government.
With an average of 60,000 illegals a month on our southern border,
our law enforcement professionals must have the additional resources to
successfully execute their jobs and keep the American people safe.
From the day President Trump announced his candidacy, he made it
clear that border security was a priority and his administration has
been built on promises made are promises kept. I can tell you that the
good folks in Georgia's 12th Congressional District want to secure our
border with a
[[Page H540]]
wall. We want to do it the right way. We must stand behind our
President. The security of our Nation depends on it.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, the gentleman makes some excellent
remarks. The 300 deaths a day due to overdoses, the opioid crisis with
90 percent of the opioids coming across the southern border, that is
why we have got to secure the border.
I agree; we have a humanitarian crisis. There are 60,000 illegals
caught a month trying to cross our border. In Missouri's Fourth
District, we don't have very many towns that even have 60,000
individuals. That is a lot of people per month coming across.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg),
my colleague. I thank the gentleman for coming tonight, and I look
forward to hearing what he has to share about this important topic.
Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Missouri for
taking this on this evening, to make a point that we are not just
talking politics here, but we are talking lives. We are talking
freedom. We are talking opportunity. We are talking security.
We must secure our border, Madam Speaker. Driving to the Detroit
airport today to fly here, I took note of the number of walls that have
been erected along Interstate 94 just to secure the communities
developed along the highway from noise and sight problems.
We take a lot of effort to do those type of things, but we have some
people who, for some reason--political, I believe--want to stop a wall
or a barrier from being developed that the people of this country want
to see.
It is not because, as it has been said, that we hate people outside
of the walls. It is that we love people inside of the walls, and we
want to pass that love on to people who desire the American Dream and
desire to be part of the American ideal.
We see 31 percent of all the women migrating up from the southern
countries who are sexually assaulted on the way up, and 17 percent of
the males have been sexually assaulted on the way up. We have a human
trafficking problem that reaches all across the United States. A lot of
those problems result from a border wall that is not secured.
We have an opioid epidemic in our country that is devastating the
dreams of a generation or more. There are too many families in my
district and your districts who know the pain and suffering that comes
from this crisis.
Just a couple of months ago, our community lost a young man,
Christopher Risner, from Jackson, a wonderful young guy, a good athlete
in high school and student in college, until he got caught in the
opioid, heroin abuse trap. Fighting to extricate himself from it,
surviving it, he fought the battle valiantly. He went through a number
of treatment centers, came out, and began to work his life forward.
I had the privilege of going to a number of forums, speaking to high
school students and others, telling his story of the battle that he
faced and what he was doing to try to succeed and change. But it was
just 2 months ago that he lost that battle, and I stood in front of his
open casket and thought: Are we doing everything we can to secure our
people against this type of scourge?
Madam Speaker, I suggest that we aren't if we are unwilling, for
political reasons, to stop a President, to stop many Members of this
Congress from doing what we know needs to be done.
All of us have heartbreaking stories from our back home experiences
of families that are losing loved ones far too soon.
I am proud of the bipartisan work we have done to combat the opioid
crisis. Sitting on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I saw the number
of bills that we put forward--I believe, 70 in all--and saw the
President sign that just last November.
But we must redouble our efforts. And as we do that, one priority is
we must keep these deadly drugs off our streets in the first place. In
fiscal year 2018 alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a
total of 1.7 million pounds of narcotics.
To curb the flow of drugs into our communities, we must secure our
southern border. There is no doubt we need a comprehensive solution. A
border wall is just one component of what we need to do. We also need
more surveillance technology, more border agents, and more resources to
address the humanitarian crisis at the border, yes. But as the experts
at the border tell us, a border wall, a security barrier must be part
of that solution.
At a time when hundreds of Americans die each week from overdoses, we
need to give our border agents all the tools they need to stem the tide
of these deadly drugs and to protect them as well. It is time for
Speaker Pelosi to get serious about border security, to negotiate to a
solution.
Let's stop the political games and negotiate a solution that keeps
the American people safe, keeps illicit drugs off our streets, puts an
end to this partial shutdown, and, may I suggest as well, gives greater
opportunity and security to those who deem it their purpose in life to
legally experience the American Dream. We want to see that happen,
Madam Speaker.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, that is so powerful. I thank the
gentleman for sharing Christopher's story. I can't imagine how helpless
that made him feel to stand at his casket, at his funeral, and to
realize that we here in Congress have passed a lot of bills dealing
with opioids to address this, but it is still flowing across our
borders. We need to do more.
So I thank the gentleman for sharing that story. We do need to work
in a bipartisan fashion. These bills that Representative Walberg talked
about were passed in a bipartisan fashion, over 70 bills. Democrats and
Republicans came together last year and said: This is a crisis. Let's
send this.
Now we need to complete that. We need to complete and stop them from
coming in to begin with, in addition to continuing to provide money for
people in treatment and our law enforcement and mental health issues
and those other things, to go after the opioid crisis. But we need to
stop them flowing here to begin with. So I thank the gentleman for
sharing that.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).
He is right there at the border in the State of Texas, along the edge.
I thank the gentleman for being here tonight and would like to hear
what he has to say about this topic.
{time} 2000
Mr. ARRINGTON. Madam Speaker, I would like to say that I am very
concerned, to my friend and the gentlewoman from Arizona, to put it
mildly. I am troubled that our Nation and our Nation's leaders here in
this great body of the United States House of Representatives would not
put politics aside and put our country and our citizens' safety first.
It is the number one job. It is the most important job, to provide for
a common defense and to ensure the safety of the United States
citizens. We can never be distracted from that, and we can never allow
partisan politics from fulfilling that first responsibility and duty.
I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and for bringing this
discussion to the floor so that we can speak directly to the American
people about our strong support for our Commander in Chief who is
simply asking for the tools and resources to do that which he ran for
the Presidency on, was elected to do, and is now doing everything with
unwavering commitment to follow through on that promise to secure the
border. Border walls and barriers are a fundamental component of
security.
As a Texan, I can tell you being on the front-lines--and the
gentlewoman knows this as well being on the front-lines as well from
the great State of Arizona--that this is costing our States billions of
dollars, $12 billion in the great State of Texas. We see the drugs that
are flowing in, the gangs, the crimes, and the criminal activities.
Here is a statistic: since 2011, 186,000 illegal immigrants were
charged with more than 290,000 criminal offenses costing $1 billion,
tearing apart families and devastating communities. And this President
is asking for the resources necessary to secure our border.
Madam Speaker, I say to Mrs. Hartzler, I find it ironic that
Democrats have spoken in favor and have even supported physical
barriers. I find it hypocritical that Speaker Pelosi has talked about
walls being immoral when she has spent probably half of her life being
protected by those very walls. I find it disingenuous that
[[Page H541]]
Democrats have said that they actually want to do something to secure
the border; they just don't want to have anything to do with walls or
fencing.
Madam Speaker, I have got a list--and I don't have enough time--but
last Congress, which was my first term in Congress, we put several
bills to do just that, to secure the border and stop illegal
immigration, from Kate's Law to No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, and
Securing America's Future.
For the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, 188 Democrats voted no;
Kate's Law, 166 Democrats voted against it; Securing America's Future
Act to give DACA recipients peace of mind, 190 Democrats voted against
it.
Then they were crying out saying that we have to abolish ICE, abolish
the people who risk their lives to keep us safe. Then we put a very
simple resolution: we support you, we love you, we are behind you, we
know what a tough job you have; and 133 Democrats voted present, and 34
voted against that resolution. I wonder how that makes the folks in
uniform who defend this country and protect our communities feel.
Madam Speaker, I thank Mrs. Hartzler for her generosity in allowing
me to speak in her time and during this Special Order. I would just
call on my Democrat colleagues and the Democrat leaders to be leaders,
not politicians, and put this country first and work in good faith with
this President who has been willing to negotiate every step of the way
to secure this border and protect our people.
God bless America.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for
sharing those heartfelt words and those statistics. They really matter.
I totally agree with the gentleman that our number one job is to keep
America safe. The number one job is to keep America safe. That is why
we want to find $5.7 billion to build the wall and reopen government.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) to
share his thoughts on where we are at today.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for not only her
service but also this Special Order. This is such an important issue.
Madam Speaker, having spent so many nights all night on the border,
it is incredible what you see down there. But what is even worse is
what the Border Patrol can tell you about, things that you can find on
the internet, there are videos and there are pictures. I have
daughters, and there are some things I would just rather not see.
But as long as our border is porous and as long as we don't have a
wall or a fence where we need it, people are being drawn into this
country. Mexico alone has about 130 million people. Obviously we can't
have an influx of 100 million people without destroying the economy,
and then we are no longer able to provide light to so much of the
world.
But if we secure our border--wall, fence, barrier--where we need it,
it cuts off the tens of billions--maybe over 100 billion now--going to
the drug cartels and the corruption comes to a crawl. But as long as we
have this porous border, we are funding some of the most evil and
horrendous human tragedy that is going on anywhere in the world.
The police try to stand up--it is not hard to see pictures, find the
stories--mayor--they end up with their head cut off and put on a pike.
How callous, how mean-spirited does somebody have to be and how
politically driven to say ``we don't care about that''? This is a
political issue. We don't want the President to have a win, so we are
just going to let the border stay as porous as it is.
They talk of rape trees where women are tied to the trees and
repeatedly raped. Objectively groups say that maybe 37 percent or more
are molested sexually, normally multiple times. How callous do you have
to be to say, yeah, but this is political. It is helping our party. We
want to keep it going.
It is time to do the right thing by the people of the United States
and, for heaven's sake, to do the right thing by the people of Mexico.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
To the gentleman's point, a reminder that in 2006, 64 Democrats in
the House joined the Republicans to pass the Secure Fence Act to build
700 miles of fencing along the border, including Barack Obama, Hillary
Clinton, and Chuck Schumer. Then the next year there was some money in
an appropriations bill for the wall, and both Speaker Pelosi and
Majority Leader Hoyer voted for it. So I think the gentleman is right.
It is time to work together to get this done.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Green),
who is a new member of Congress.
I am glad to see Dr. Mark Green. I am glad that he is here. We are
excited to have the gentleman serving with us here in the body and
being a former service member from the Army who is part of the elite
unit that helped capture Saddam Hussein.
The gentleman knows a little bit about security, so I appreciate the
gentleman's sharing his thoughts on where we are at tonight.
Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my
distinguished colleague from Missouri for putting this Special Order
together highlighting the need for border security and, most
importantly, to put our American citizens first.
We could spend our time debating what a physical barrier should
consist of, but let's make one thing clear: whether it is in the form
of a wall or a fence or some barrier combined with 21st century
surveillance technology and increased Border Patrol agents, a barrier
is an effective defense against entry by criminals, gang members, drug
smugglers, and, yes, even terrorists.
My colleagues across the aisle are now arguing that physical barriers
are ineffective. Some have even said that they are immoral. Now, this
is not the position they held in the recent past. President Trump has
asked for $5.7 billion to help secure the border. Under President
Obama, Democrats were willing to spend $40 billion for border security.
What has changed?
Is it possible the only difference is the occupant in the White
House?
Some argue that border security is not necessary because too few
known or suspected terrorists have been captured on the southern
border. They say that only eight have been captured. I would suggest to
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that one terrorist gaining
entry into this country is too many. I would like to point out that
there were only 19 terrorists who carried out the attacks on 9/11--just
19. The fact that we know ISIS is encouraging their followers to try to
enter the United States across our porous southern border should itself
warrant better scrutiny.
This leads me to direct some questions to my colleagues and friends
across the aisle.
Is it worth the risk?
Is it worth the possibility that one or two or a dozen or 19
terrorists could cross our southern border and carry out an attack that
kills innocent American men and women?
I would pay $5.7 billion to stop the next 9/11.
Terrorism is not the only threat to our national security. In 2017,
an estimated 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses with the biggest
increase in drug overdose deaths being attributed to fentanyl and
heroin. It has been reported that roughly 85 percent of the fentanyl
and 90 percent of the heroin is coming across our southern border.
Does that death toll not warrant putting aside the issues with our
President long enough on this national crisis to fund additional
barriers and to fund additional and better drug detection technology
and surveillance technology to try to stop the flow of these deadly
drugs across our southern border?
Would it be worth it if we saved 1,000 lives? 100? A dozen?
What number would justify putting differences aside and joining this
effort?
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for this opportunity.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for his
perspective, both as a doctor and as a military officer. His speaking
of security means a lot. I think it is a good question.
What number is it going to take?
Are we really going to say: let's work together and let's do this?
[[Page H542]]
I think we need to sit down right now. I am hopeful maybe this week
we will do that.
Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from South Carolina (Mr.
Norman) to come share what he thinks maybe we could do this week to get
this government opened and at the same time secure our border.
Mr. NORMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Hartzler for her
efforts on this Special Order.
I don't know that I can add a whole lot to what has been said. But
let me tell you about a conversation I had with a liberal who did not
believe in a wall. He didn't think it worked. He happened to go to the
national championship game between Clemson and Alabama.
I asked him: How was the game?
Of course, he was a Clemson fan.
I said: Did you have tickets?
He said: Yes.
I said: Let me ask you, did you have any trouble getting in?
He said: No, I had tickets.
I said: Did you go to a point of entry?
Yeah, we had a line.
I said: Well, could you not just walk in? Was there a wall?
He said: No, there was a fence.
I said: Okay, there was a fence. But was there a barrier, whether
concrete or steel? Was there a way that you could not get in and you
had to go in to a certain point of entry?
He said: Yes.
I said: Well, explain to me what is different with our country? If
anybody can walk in that stadium, would they not take your seat? Would
they not violate what you paid for?
He just kind of looked at me.
I said: Do you not see the similarities?
He did, but he didn't want to admit it.
Madam Speaker, I am very frustrated with the inaction of Congress. I
am appalled that we haven't taken the security for our great Nation
seriously.
How many Kate Steinles are going to have to be shot?
How many Mollie Tibbetts are going to have to be raped and killed?
How many police officers on the border are going to be shot before we
say that we have got a crisis in this country?
I have got a chart behind me that shows what $5 billion is to our
total Federal budget spending. It is one-tenth of 1 percent. Madam
Speaker, you try to look and see what percentage this is. You really
can't see it. So as has been said, it is not about the money. I really
don't think that those who argue against it can really say that they
don't work, as my friend who went to the college football game knows it
works, because he said it did.
{time} 2015
Now is the time to take action, not to hold this President in
contempt, like has been done, for political reasons, having the safety
of this country and all Americans at risk.
We shouldn't even have to have this debate. I urge Congress to take
action. I urge Congress to put partisan politics behind.
Let's do right for the country. Let's do right for America.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Madam Speaker, I love the analogy that the gentleman
just shared about the Clemson game and going into a football game and
how you have a ticket and there is a fence and you go through a point
of entry and how the system works that way. It is common sense for us.
So I thank the gentleman for sharing that.
I would like to visit with someone else who has a lot of common
sense. We serve on the Committee on Agriculture together. We are from
rural America, and we just have some common sense about these things.
The gentleman is from Washington State, and I would love to hear his
thoughts about the importance of securing our border as well as
reopening government.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr.
Newhouse).
Mr. NEWHOUSE. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend Mrs. Hartzler from
Missouri for putting this evening together to help us make some
important points about a very important issue facing our country. So I
thank the gentlewoman for yielding me some time.
I just wanted to relate a couple of instances. Madam Speaker, last
June I had the opportunity to tour the same southern border area that
President Trump toured just this past week. In fact, he was briefed by
some of the same officials that I was, including Acting Chief Patrol
Agent Raul Ortiz of the Rio Grande Valley sector. It was a very
interesting conversation.
Chief Ortiz said, so far in 2019, his sector has apprehended people
from 41 countries around the world. On a single day, Chief Ortiz's
sector apprehended 133 people from countries other than Mexico or
countries in Central America.
Madam Speaker, we absolutely have a crisis at the border. It is a
humanitarian crisis. Even President Obama said as much back in 2014.
President Trump now is, rightly, citing the growing numbers of
families and unaccompanied minors crossing the border as a crisis, yet
he is met with partisan criticism for saying so.
The numbers will tell you the truth. Just last month, 20,000 migrant
children were brought illegally to our country--20,000. Our border
facilities just are not equipped to handle this influx of families and
minor children. We are being overrun. Therefore, this results in a
humanitarian crisis.
Securing the border and coming to a solution on immigration reform
should not be a partisan fight, but, rather, we should see this as an
opportunity to find the common ground about which the gentlewoman was
speaking.
Americans support a deal to secure our border, reform our immigration
system, and--another point--provide certainty to DACA recipients.
Just this weekend, I polled my constituents on this very solution.
You know what they told me? Madam Speaker, 69.8 percent said they
support a border security and DACA solution compromise deal. President
Trump has made it clear that he is open to a broader immigration reform
deal that includes DACA recipients if the border is secured.
So I think our time to achieve both is right now. The fact that we
have a crisis at the border must be addressed. But congressional
Democrats must be willing to make a deal with President Trump to
support broader solutions for our Nation.
Speaker Pelosi's flippant comment of being willing to only give a
single dollar for a barrier at the border, that is a slap in the face
to the men and women, like Chief Ortiz, who are working selflessly to
keep our Nation safe.
Madam Speaker, let's reopen the government, secure our border, and
reform our broken immigration system. We can do all those things.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Well said. This is so important. And we have a moment
in time right now in the history of our country where we have had the
government--part of it--shut down for 24 days, yet we have, like the
gentleman said, all of these individuals coming into our country, some
of them terrorists or gang members hurting our citizens.
So here is an opportunity to come together and work in a bipartisan
fashion to fix our broken immigration laws. I agree that the DACA
situation needs to be taken care of, and we need more agricultural
workers. We need to expand our visas. We need to expand in several
areas. We need to streamline the process.
Right now there are 600,000 individuals in the process of trying to
come here legally into our country. I don't know if the gentleman has
worked with some of the individuals. I know, in my own district, my
office and I are helping some individuals who are trying to get their
family members here legally.
It has been very interesting to see the paperwork that they have to
go through and the amount of work. The paperwork that I have seen has
been even this high, the documentation that they have to submit. Then
they have money that they pay along the way, and then there is such a
large time frame. Some have waited over a year, 2 years, or more to go
through this process legally.
But it is worth it because they want to live the American Dream, and
I applaud them. But we need to streamline it and help those individuals
who are going through the process to get here and make it easier, the
ones who want to be upright citizens and contribute.
But the problem is that it is not fair, for those 600,000 individuals
who are trying to come here, who are waiting in line, to just have
somebody go
[[Page H543]]
across the border and not follow our laws, disregard our laws. It is
just not right.
So it is important that we build this wall, that we come together in
a bipartisan fashion to find a solution to this, that we find $5.7
billion, which is hardly anything.
You saw the chart earlier from Representative Norman about what a
small sliver of our entire budget that would be. Surely all these lives
of individuals and our families' security and safety are worth finding
that sliver amount of money.
We pay over $50 billion every year in foreign aid, and we want $5.7
billion for a wall. Madam Speaker, $50 billion we send to other
countries, many times for them to secure their border, yet we can't
find $5.7 billion or we can't get support for that from the other side
of the aisle so that we can secure our own border. That just doesn't
make sense.
We can do better.
I appreciate all of my colleagues who have come down tonight to have
this conversation on this topic and to talk about how it can come about
for us to come together to find this solution, reopen government, and
to make sure that we have a secure border for our Nation, to stop the
flow of drugs, and to keep our country safe.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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