[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 20 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S354-S355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

  REMOVING EXTRANEOUS LOOPHOLES INSURING EVERY VETERAN EMERGENCY ACT--
                           MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 30, 
H.R. 815.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 30, H.R. 815, a bill to 
     amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain 
     improvements relating to the eligibility of veterans to 
     receive reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished 
     through the Veterans Community Care program, and for other 
     purposes.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 30, H.R. 815, a bill to amend title 
     38, United States Code, to make certain improvements relating 
     to the eligibility of veterans to receive reimbursement for 
     emergency treatment furnished through the Veterans Community 
     Care program, and for other purposes.
         Charles E. Schumer, Patty Murray, Benjamin L. Cardin, 
           Robert P. Casey, Jr., Mark R. Warner, Michael F. 
           Bennet, Catherine Cortez Masto, Margaret Wood Hassan, 
           Richard J. Durbin, Martin Heinrich, Tim Kaine, Kyrsten 
           Sinema, Jack Reed, Angus S. King, Jr., Richard 
           Blumenthal, Christopher Murphy, Brian Schatz.

  Mr. SCHUMER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The Republican leader is recognized.


                          Supplemental Funding

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, 4 years ago, as a candidate for the 
Democratic nomination, President Biden promised his base functionally 
open borders:

       I would in fact make sure that . . . we immediately surge 
     to the border all those people who are seeking asylum.

  That was President Biden when he took office 3 years ago. As people 
surged to the border, they insisted that the President had told them to 
come, and by his actions, we know they were exactly right.
  The Biden administration invited a crisis at our southwest border. In 
the tradition of Washington Democrats dating back decades, they chose 
an issue over its solution, and then they made it worse. The President 
of the United States threw out essential border security tools like 
``Remain in Mexico,'' froze new funds for commonsense measures like 
border wall construction, and abandoned the brave men and women of the 
CPB and ICE to clean up his mess.
  President Biden's border crisis has upended life in communities 
across America. Flows of deadly fentanyl have snuffed out precious 
lives in States like Kentucky. Catch-and-release has confronted even 
the bluest so-called sanctuary cities with the harsh realities of 
unchecked illegal immigration.

[[Page S355]]

  For 3 years, the President and his administration have tried to 
convince the American people not to believe their own eyes. They tried 
in vain to pretend that we weren't facing a crisis, but the country 
knows better. This is a humanitarian and security crisis of historic 
proportions.
  Senate Republicans have insisted--not just for months but for years--
that this urgent crisis demanded action. Three months ago, we asked our 
colleague Senator Lankford to lead that action. In just the time since 
Washington Democrats finally decided to join him at the negotiating 
table, the President's border crisis made history all over again. 
December saw the highest daily and monthly tallies of illegal border 
crossings ever on record. The crisis has literally never been worse. 
This is the reality as the Senate begins careful consideration of the 
border security agreement announced last night.
  The gaping hole in our Nation's sovereign borders on President 
Biden's watch is not going to heal itself, and the crater of American 
credibility after 3 years of the President's foreign policy will not 
repair itself either.
  Today, our adversaries are emboldened. As terrorists and 
authoritarian thugs challenge the strongest military in the world, our 
Commander in Chief is hesitant--hesitant--and self-deterred. It is long 
past time for the President to demonstrate more resolve and start 
imposing decisive costs on those who dare to attack America, and it is 
now time for Congress to take action on supplemental national security 
legislation that finally meets those challenges head-on.
  I have spoken at length for months about the urgent need to invest in 
American hard power, stand with our allies, and start showing our 
adversaries that the world's foremost superpower intends to start 
acting like one again.
  My colleagues know where I stand. They know as well as I do that 
America's adversaries in Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran are working 
together to undermine us, and they know that the time has finally come 
for the Senate to respond with strength.
  The national security legislation we are preparing to take up will 
invest heavily in the capabilities and capacity America and our allies 
need to regain the upper hand over this emerging axis of 
authoritarians. Make no mistake, the gauntlet has been thrown, and 
America needs to pick it up.

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