Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 No. 200 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was this morning I will introduce a con- States faces a border security and hu- called to order by the President pro tinuing resolution that will ensure con- manitarian crisis—a border security tempore (Mr. HATCH). tinuous funding to the Federal Govern- and humanitarian crisis. f ment. The measure will provide the re- These are some of the facts. In the sources necessary to continue normal past year alone, we saw a 30-percent in- PRAYER operations through February 8. crease in apprehensions by CBP, in- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Let’s review why this step was nec- cluding nearly 6,700 apprehensions of fered the following prayer: essary. individuals with criminal histories and Let us pray. Even in the face of a great need to se- a 50-percent increase in apprehensions Eternal Lord God, who rules the rag- cure the border and following good- of known gang members. We have seen ing of the seas, we praise You that we faith efforts by the President’s team, a 75-percent spike in methamphet- continue to be sustained by Your good- our Democratic colleagues rejected an amine seizures since fiscal 2015. So it is ness and mercies. We are grateful for extremely reasonable offer yesterday. quite obvious that shoring up our bor- each heartbeat we receive as a gift It would have cleared the remaining ders is an urgent need for our national from Your bounty. Help us to so live appropriation bills, which had received security—no question about it. that we will never forget our account- bipartisan support in committee, and Secure borders are what the Amer- ability to You. Lord, bless our Senators, enlighten provided an additional $1 billion to ican people expect and they deserve. and illuminate them that they may tackle a variety of urgent border secu- That is why it continues to be a major cultivate an experiential relationship rity priorities. focus of President Trump and his ad- with You, delighting to follow Your I am sorry that my Democratic col- ministration. Already the President’s precepts. Touch their lips, that they leagues couldn’t put their partisanship approach to border security is yielding may speak words that unite and bring aside and show the same good faith and undeniable results. In each of four CBP hope. Give them hearts that are willing flexibility that the President has sectors where physical borders have to serve. Strengthen them when tempt- shown in order to provide the resources been improved or expanded—El Paso, ed and guide them when they are per- our Nation needs to secure the integ- Yuma, Tucson, and San Diego—illegal plexed. rity of our borders as well as the safety traffic has dropped by at least 90 per- We pray in Your great Name. Amen. of American families, but this seems to cent. be the reality of our political moment. While you wouldn’t know it from lis- f It seems like political spite, for the tening to the far-left special interests, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE President may be winning out over sen- this administration’s focus on border The President pro tempore led the sible policy—even sensible policies that security actually follows similar com- Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: are more modest than border security monsense efforts that used to be a bi- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the allocations that many Democrats partisan consensus. United States of America, and to the Repub- themselves have supported in the very It used to be a bipartisan consensus. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, recent past. In 2006, for example, the Secure Fence indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Faced with this intransigence—with Act, which is designed to strengthen f Democrats’ failure to take our borders physical security measures at the bor- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME seriously—Republicans will continue to der, received the support of no fewer fulfill our duty to govern. That is why than 26 of our Democratic colleagues, The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. we will soon take up a simple measure including the current Democratic lead- TOOMEY). Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. that will continue government funding er, along with Senators FEINSTEIN, into February, so that we can continue CARPER, NELSON, STABENOW, WYDEN, f this vital debate after the new Con- and Obama. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY gress has convened, because—make no In 2010, President Obama signed a bill LEADER mistake—there will be important un- to increase the CBP’s physical presence The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- finished business in front of us, and we down at the border. It passed the Sen- jority leader is recognized. owe it to the American people to fi- ate by unanimous consent, by the way. f nally tackle it. So let’s not pretend there is some Just last week, U.S. Customs and bright-line principle that separates the SENATE AGENDA Border Commissioner Kevin billions of dollars that our Democratic Mr. MCCONNELL. First, for the in- McAleenan told our colleagues on the colleagues were willing and eager to formation of all of our colleagues, later Judiciary Committee that the United spend on border security in the recent ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S7823 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Dec 20, 2018 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19DE6.000 S19DEPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE S7824 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 19, 2018 past and the resources now requested admit that I picked up the phone too. hand. No matter if some said it by the President and his team. There is I called PAUL and told him exactly couldn’t be done, no matter that he no big difference in principle. There what he didn’t want to hear—that he hadn’t sought the job in the first place, has just been a shift in the political was the right man at the right mo- the happy warrior has been undeterred. winds on the far left. This is knee-jerk, ment. Conveniently, I was about to get For all this says about PAUL RYAN partisan opposition to the administra- on a plane to Iraq at the time. So PAUL the Speaker, it says even more about tion’s reasonable and flexible requests. didn’t have much of an opportunity to PAUL RYAN the man. He has a big heart This is making political obstruction a push back. and a razor-sharp mind. It doesn’t take higher goal than the integrity of our Over the past 3 years, I have had long to notice either one, and he knows Nation’s borders. Frankly, it is just po- more opportunities than most to see how to lead with both. litical spite, and the American people the right man in action. We have met He is a man of profound faith and know it when they see it. weekly to coordinate the efforts of our abiding patriotism, and even after 20 So the Senate will continue our work majorities and present a united front years of Washington, he remains a on the remaining bills—the products of on behalf of the American people. At staunch optimist. PAUL is quick to in- much bipartisan hard work and col- times the cohesion between our teams sist that America’s brightest days are laboration, and, in the meantime, we made it feel like we shared one large yet to come and even quicker to back will turn to a clean continuing resolu- staff. So I have seen firsthand how up the sentiment with action. tion later today so we can make sure much of what we have been able to ac- Working with Speaker RYAN has been we don’t end this year the way we complish this Congress has been due in among the great joys of my career in began it—with another government huge part to PAUL’s serious approach the Senate. The Nation is so much bet- shutdown because of the Democrats’ al- and to his principles and his prag- ter for his leadership, and I am better lergy to sensible immigration policies. matism alike. for his friendship. I am so grateful to That is what they did at the beginning He helped lead the way on last year’s PAUL for everything. I wish him, of the year. comprehensive reform of our Tax Code, Janna, and their lovely family great We need the government to remain turning his decades-long personal mis- happiness in whatever adventures lie open for the American people. We need sion into a brighter future for millions ahead. to wrap up our work for this year, and of American workers and job creators. f I hope that my Democratic friends re- He navigated tense funding negotia- TRIBUTE TO JOHN CORNYN turn next year ready to join the Presi- tions with a deep understanding of his dent, this Senate majority, and the Members’ concerns and stood firm in Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, now American people in our desire to secure support of America’s military, helping I am down to my very last end-of-year our border. to deliver the largest year-on-year in- tribute to a Member of this body.