Providing for Consideration of H.R. Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can take up H.R. 471, the PAUSE Act, which was introduced by my colleague and friend, Representative Yvette Herrell. As a physician and former Director of Public Health for the State of Iowa, I am proud to cosponsor this legislation, and I believe we must bring this to the floor today.
This legislation would prohibit the Federal Government from ceasing or lessening the implementation of COVID-19 border health provisions until the COVID-19 public health emergency is no longer in effect, both at the Federal level and all 50 States.
At the start of the pandemic last year, through the Centers for Disease Control, President Trump implemented Title 42 border health restrictions. These commonsense restrictions ensure that people crossing our northern and southern border do not present a public health risk to our country. President Biden, to his credit, had left some of these restrictions in place as our country works to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic, until now.
Now, the Biden administration is considering eliminating Title 42 border health restrictions and allowing individuals who pose a health risk to enter into our country.
This comes in the same week where the President is considering requiring Federal employees to be vaccinated because of the delta variant, and this comes a day after this Chamber is reimplementing a mask policy due to rising cases of COVID-19 across the country, and the Senate is not.
Mr. Speaker, the President is rightfully concerned about the rising number of COVID cases across the country, the vast majority of which are among the unvaccinated. While the President and I have different ideas on the best way to stop this virus, it is clear we all want Americans to be safe and healthy from this virus.
Yet, while this administration is considering more COVID restrictions for American citizens on one hand, it is planning to loosen restrictions on migrants at the border on the other. This has opened our borders to an unparalleled surge that is not diminishing and is also risking bringing north the lambda variant, just as the Texas House Democrats brought north the delta variant.
This administration is considering ending Title 42 restrictions in the middle of a public health crisis at our southern border. Last week, reports indicated that the number of migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Rio Grande Valley sector has increased by 900 percent. Last month alone, over 188,000 migrants were encountered at the border, and 105,000 of those were turned away under Title 42 restrictions.
If we are going to eradicate COVID, we cannot afford to repeal Title 42. Lifting these restrictions would threaten the health and safety of U.S. citizens and could lead to higher levels of migration. Our Border Patrol agents and CBP officers are already dealing with migration surges, they support the continuance of Title 42, and we must ensure that they have the tools and processes needed to protect themselves and our country. This includes the ability to process migrants under Title 42 health restrictions until the public health emergency ends.
Additionally, testing for COVID-19 should be done at all airports or other ports of entry.
Eliminating Title 42 would only exacerbate the current administration's crisis at our southern border and likely lead to an increased public health crisis. Failure to either close the border or continue Title 42 puts all American lives at risk, both vaccinated and unvaccinated.
I urge Americans to get vaccinated so we can eradicate this virus.
I urge the President not to repeal Title 42 restrictions.
And I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can bring the PAUSE Act to the floor and keep Title 42 border health restrictions in place until the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source