[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H3214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THANKING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bacon). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the brave men and women 
who wear the badge and put their lives on the line to serve us, protect 
us, and keep our communities safe. I proudly back our women and men in 
blue, and National Police Week is an opportunity for our Nation to come 
together and thank the law enforcement community.
  According to a recent study, 58 percent of Americans believe reducing 
crime should be a top priority for the President and Congress to 
address, yet some Washington Democrats maintain their calls to defund 
the police.
  We must reject that nonsense and support the brave men and women who 
serve on the front line by collecting accurate data to address the rise 
in antipolice attacks, empowering law enforcement to detain any illegal 
immigrant charged with or convicted of assaulting a law enforcement 
officer, and ensuring our officers have access to a variety of mental 
health services as they bear the weight of protecting their neighbors 
and our communities.
  This body will have the opportunity to offer that support this week 
by voting ``yes'' on bills that will do just that.
  Americans deserve to live in an environment that is safe and secure. 
It is not lost on me that our law enforcement plays the most 
significant role in securing and defending that safety. We are 
grateful.


                Every State in America Is a Border State

  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, 370 days ago, this body passed the Secure the 
Border Act of 2023. After President Biden's policies created the worst 
humanitarian crisis in our Nation's history, House Republicans rallied 
together to end the crisis and secure the southern border.
  Sadly, some Washington Democrats are more loyal to progressive 
activists than to keeping Americans safe. My colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle would rather leave the border wide open than consider 
our legislation. In the meantime, America suffers.
  Since House Republicans passed H.R. 2, there have been more than 2.1 
million encounters with illegal immigrants trying to enter the country 
at the southern border. Nearly 120 of those individuals' names appear 
on the terrorist watch list, and almost 33,000 of them have some sort 
of criminal background.

  In the past year alone, our Border Patrol agents have seized enough 
fentanyl to kill 3.8 billion people. That is the entire population of 
the United States, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and 
Brazil combined.
  It doesn't matter what the White House says. The numbers don't lie. 
President Biden's policies are failing, and our country is less secure 
because of it.
  Under President Biden, every State in America is a border State. 
Kansas and the Big First feel that, and that is why they are so 
concerned about President Biden's border crisis.
  In my commitment to the Big First, I pledged that I would fight for a 
nation that is secure and work to end the crisis at the border. That 
commitment is one of the reasons why I supported H.R. 2.
  Rather than working with House Republicans to fix the President's 
crisis, Senate Democrats have decided to let H.R. 2 just sit in the 
legislative graveyard. In the meantime, Mexican cartels are more 
empowered while more drugs and more crime pour into our country over 
the border.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve better than this. Our children deserve 
to live in a country where they are safe and secure. It is beyond time 
for President Biden to work with House Republicans to secure the 
southern border. Enough is enough.

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