[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 198 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1154-E1155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITIES FROM FAILURE TO SECURE THE BORDER ACT OF 
                                  2023

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 29, 2023

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5283, the 
Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 
2023.
  In bringing H.R. 5283 to the House floor, Republicans again 
demonstrate they are more interested in political grandstanding and 
punishing asylum seekers than advancing any serious policy on 
immigration. Under the guise of protecting our public lands and 
national parks, H.R. 5283 would prohibit any temporary or permanent 
housing for asylum seekers on land controlled by National Park Service 
(NPS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS), or the Forest Service (USFS). If Republicans 
truly cared about our public lands, they would not have passed an 
Interior Appropriations bill that dramatically cuts funding for our 
federal land management agencies, including $450 million from the 
National Park

[[Page E1155]]

Service and $312 million from the U.S. Forest Service.
  Mr. Chair, this is another messaging bill from House Republicans that 
will never become law. It is time we focus on finding real solutions to 
the issues our constituents are facing.

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