Further Continuing Appropriations for Department of Homeland Security, 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to speak in opposition to the majority's temporary funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. However, our crisis that we are at at this point and at our border is not temporary, and it continues to grow during this government shutdown.

I am not sure why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will expect a different outcome today when the real solution, as we all know, starts when everyone sits around the negotiating table.

The people elected the President and they elected each of us. They elected each of us to do our job, and this is a serious job. Legislating is governing; not putting bills on the floor of the House that we know the President will veto. He has continued to say that he will veto this legislation, and we know what the outcome will be.

I think all of the political points have been made here this morning, and I believe that it is time that we put partisanship aside to try to work together to try to find a solution.

Instead of using the words ``coming together to compromise,'' I think we should use better words to say, ``We need to find common ground.''

Just saying ``no'' to the physical infrastructure is not really a negotiating position. This House yesterday had the opportunity to vote to pay Federal workers who have missed their paychecks, and it is disappointing that together, as a Congress, we couldn't come together for the needs of these public servants.

We must put this political gamesmanship aside and seek to work together to find some common ground. I think that is where the solution lies.

The solution is really simple. One side does not win at the expense of the other. Instead, what we need to do is find a way where each side cannot put our individual parties' interest before the needs of the country and the people who serve this country.

So this morning as we debate this legislation and continue to have this legislation before us, I would urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle-- and let me say that, both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans--to reject the proposal so that we can get back to some serious business of being a legislative body.

Let's show the American people that we deserve the trust that they placed in us when they sent us to serve in this House of Representatives.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source