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Floor Speech

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Mrs. KIM of California. Mr. Speaker, this amendment would negatively impact our ability to address the profound security conditions in Central America's Northern Triangle countries.

As we know, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are leading source countries of illegal immigration to the United States. Under this administration, the migration crisis at the U.S. southern border has reached the highest levels in recorded history.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection are overworked, underfunded, and demoralized. They also lack the tools and resources to address America's growing fentanyl crisis, now the leading cause of death for Americans 18 through 45. Border agents are outmaneuvered by well- resourced criminal groups and human traffickers who exploit the security conditions in the region.

In addition to needing effective border enforcement to address this crisis, we also need a comprehensive approach to the root causes of migration.

This amendment would diminish the Department of Defense's ability to contribute to those efforts. This amendment would also undermine what it seeks to achieve by impeding existing defense cooperation programs grounded in promoting and improving human rights standards.

It is also duplicative. It is wasteful, as extensive vetting on recipient forces is already extensively conducted.

In addition, much like the cuts in 2018, any additional suspensions of assistance to the Northern Triangle will worsen the security situation.

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