Border Security

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, later today, I will join President Trump, the Democratic leader, the new Speaker of the House, and our congressional colleagues down at the White House.

The meeting represents the latest in the President's ongoing efforts to persuade Democrats that appropriate funding for border security is a better outcome than persisting in this partial government shutdown. I hope that this time around my friends across the aisle will come prepared to engage much more seriously on the issue at hand.

We may have entered a new Congress since our last meeting, but the basic steps that are needed to end this unfortunate standoff really haven't changed at all. We are in the same place. As I have said on several occasions and as the administration has affirmed, any viable compromise will need to carry the endorsement of the President before it receives a vote in either House of Congress. Under these conditions, the package presented by the House's new Democratic leaders yesterday can only be seen as a time-wasting act of political posturing. It does not carry the support of the President--in fact, the administration indicated yesterday that the President would actually veto it--and it cannot earn the support of 60 of my colleagues over here in the Senate.

My friends across the aisle understand the ground rules perfectly well. They know that a solution will need to be palatable to House Democrats and Senate Republicans alike. They know that making laws takes a Presidential signature. We all learned that in grade school. In fact, the Democratic leader himself insisted ``the President must publicly support and say he will sign an agreement before it gets a vote in either Chamber.'' That is the Democratic leader who said that.

Everyone understands what we need to move forward and successfully make policy instead of simply staging political theater. Everyone should understand just how urgently the situation on our Nation's border demands our attention--the situation that has been accurately described by the Commissioner of the CBP--the Border Patrol--as a ``border security and humanitarian crisis.'' This shouldn't be taken lightly. It should not be viewed as an opportunity for the new House Democratic majority to prioritize political performance as an art form ahead of the public interest.

I urge our Democratic colleagues to approach our meeting today with a willingness to join the administration and the men and women of Customs and Border Protection to work to protect our border and bring this partial shutdown to an end.

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