[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 50 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2491-S2492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Mr. HAGERTY. Mr. President, I rise today as the Senate again finds 
itself facing a potential government shutdown due to the majority 
leader's political games. And again, the Senate must consider what we 
will do in response to the grave national security crisis that is 
emanating from our southern border.
  It is deja vu from 2 weeks ago, when I offered a simple amendment 
regarding just one corrosive, anti-Democratic effect of this crisis. My 
amendment would have stopped illegal aliens from being counted for 
allotting congressional seats and, therefore, electoral college votes.
  It did so by requiring the census to determine basic population 
statistics--like the number of citizens, noncitizens, and illegal 
aliens who are living in this country--and by requiring that only U.S. 
citizens be counted for the purposes of determining the number of House 
seats and the number of electoral college votes in America.
  Currently, illegal aliens are counted when determining Americans' 
representation in government and the worth of their vote. The more 
illegal aliens and noncitizens in your State or district, the greater 
your voting power in Congress and in Presidential elections.
  This means that in a State like California--or a city like New York--
millions of illegal aliens result in several more congressional seats 
and electoral votes for that jurisdiction.
  That helps explain why the majority leader worked so fervently 2 
weeks ago to avoid a vote on my amendment--until it was clear that such 
obstruction would lead to a government shutdown. It also explains why 
every single Democrat voting on my amendment opposed it. Because when 
it comes to the census, the majority leader believes that ``every 
person must be counted.'' Evidently, that means illegal aliens too.
  And with respect to commonsense proposals like mine--to count 
citizens, not illegal aliens--for apportioning voting power in America, 
what does the majority leader have to say? Well, he calls it an attempt 
to weaponize the census.
  Really? That is quite rich. Aren't Democrats weaponizing the census 
by counting people living in our country illegally? Do we count 
diplomats? Do we count people who are here on vacation? Why would we 
count people who are here illegally? That is the essence of weaponizing 
the census.
  Here is what is really going on. Several weeks ago, video emerged of 
a Democrat House Member from the majority leader's home State in which 
she called for more illegal immigration to her district for 
redistricting purposes.
  What she means is that Americans are fleeing blue cities and States 
en masse because of bad government, but congressional seats are 
allocated based on population. So if you are losing population, you 
either have to backfill it or lose congressional seats.
  This Representative stated that, because of her population loss, she 
needed to fill her district with illegal aliens to keep from losing her 
seat. That is exactly what my amendment would have prevented.
  The Representative who made these comments is not only from the same 
State as the majority leader but she represents the same district that 
the majority leader formerly represented when he served in the House of 
Representatives.
  This is the same district which houses James Madison High School. You 
remember James Madison High School. That is the school that cleared out 
its own students to make room for illegal alien housing. It is even the 
high school that the majority leader

[[Page S2492]]

himself attended. You talk about weaponizing the census.
  If you don't believe me, listen to what New York City is saying 
itself. Just last week, New York City announced that it is challenging 
the 2023 Census Bureau annual estimates, arguing that the government 
failed to count some 50,000 illegal aliens currently in the city. They 
are desperate to count these illegal aliens because 727,000 people have 
moved out of New York since 2020. They have got to backfill that 
population to preserve their Federal influence.
  It is clear why the majority leader and my Democrat colleagues voted 
against any change to the census. It is not because they are afraid 
that Republicans will weaponize it; it is because Democrats already 
have weaponized it.
  Prior to this vote, the concept was decried by Democrats in the media 
as a ``conspiracy theory.'' Democrats' unanimous vote against ending 
this practice changed it from a conspiracy theory to a conspiracy--
period.
  It is why they have done nothing to secure our southern border, and 
it is why there is no outrage from my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle when confronted with the fact that the number of illegal 
aliens who have entered the United States since Biden took office 
exceeds the population of 36 States. And President Biden and Democrats 
aren't just sitting back and allowing the crisis at our southern border 
to unfold; they are actively encouraging it.

  For example, President Biden has been secretly flying hundreds of 
thousands of illegal aliens from foreign countries into blue-city 
airports across the United States in order to resettle them there.
  Earlier this month, scarce details emerged regarding the 
administration's secret flights. They revealed that more than 320,000 
illegal aliens were flown directly into the United States last year 
alone. One can't help but wonder whether the President is trying to 
make it even easier for blue States to backfill their declining 
populations and shore up their political power by delivering these 
illegal aliens directly to them.
  Flying migrants from foreign countries into the United States in the 
midst of a record-shattering illegal immigration crisis is completely 
absurd. I plan to soon file an amendment to the appropriations bill 
that would prohibit the Biden administration from doing this.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense 
measure.
  The question is simple: Are Democrats willing to allow a vote on my 
amendment to stop President Biden from using secret flights to import 
hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the United States? Or are 
they so desperate to preserve this political power grab that they can't 
risk the possibility of losing it by allowing such a vote to occur?
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.