[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 190 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7439-S7440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Southern Border

  Mr. President, then there is the crisis at the southern border. U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection encountered 192,000 individuals 
attempting to cross our southern border in September, a 233-percent 
increase from the previous September--233 percent. Customs and Border 
Protection apprehended more than 1.7 million individuals attempting to 
cross our southern border in fiscal year 2021--the highest number ever.
  We have a security, enforcement, and humanitarian crisis at our 
southern border, and there is no sign that things are getting any 
better. Yet you could be forgiven for wondering if Democrats have even 
noticed.
  I am pretty sure the President and his administration spent more time 
earlier this year fighting against the use of the word ``crisis'' to 
describe the situation at the border than they did actually thinking 
about how they might deal with the influx. The President's main 
response to the situation seems to be ignoring it in hopes that it will 
go away. He is happy to travel all over the place, whether to a 
campaign rally in Virginia or a climate change summit overseas, but he 
can't seem to find a minute to visit the southern border.
  The border crisis is not the only crisis the President is ignoring. 
The President's disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal was a real low point 
for this country. Thirteen of our military men and women died in the 
terrorist attack. We abandoned thousands of individuals who had worked 
with us in Afghanistan and whom we had promised to protect, not to 
mention hundreds of Americans still working to find a way home. The 
President, who was supposed to restore our standing on the world stage, 
left our allies wondering if our word can be relied upon.
  Most of all, the disastrous withdrawal has left our country in a much 
more precarious national security position. Afghanistan is ripe to once 
again become a terrorist haven. Just this week, a Pentagon official 
testified that ISIS-K, the ISIS Afghanistan affiliate, could be ready 
to launch terrorist attacks on our homeland in as little as 6 months--6 
months. Al-Qaida, which looks set to once again find a safe haven in 
Afghanistan, could be ready to launch attacks in a year.
  Yet, once again, this barely seems to register on the Biden 
administration's radar. We still have no agreements with neighboring 
countries to establish or make use of bases to launch counterterrorism 
operations in Afghanistan. The administration is apparently

[[Page S7440]]

working on the situation. Well, quite frankly, this is something the 
administration should have figured out before--before--withdrawing our 
troops from Afghanistan and destroying our ability to conduct 
counterterrorism operations within the country. Unfortunately, the 
President was more focused on meeting his predetermined, arbitrary 
deadline than on dealing with the actual situation on the ground, with 
predictably catastrophic consequences.
  A lot of priorities have had to take a back seat to Democrats' tax-
and-spending spree. I only wish the bill were worth it. Unfortunately, 
Democrats' massive spending bill is likely to worsen our inflation 
crisis, weaken our economy, and increase government intrusion into 
Americans' lives. Meanwhile, I guess our border crisis and national 
security priorities will have to continue to wait until Democrats find 
the time to address them. I am not holding my breath.
  I yield the floor.