Official Truth Squad

OFFICIAL TRUTH SQUAD -- (House of Representatives - March 29, 2006)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. FOXX. Thank you so much, Congressman Price. It is very good to be on the Official Truth Squad with you and to bring facts out that need to be brought out. I heard your comments about illegal immigration, and I share those concerns with you. As we talked about homeland security, national security begins with border security. That is very important.

I think what we have to make sure that people understand all the time, the Federal Government was formed to provide for the defense of this Nation. It began by the States joining together to get our freedom from England, but we stay together for the defense of this Nation. Local government, State governments, cannot provide for the defense of this Nation.

We are the most free country in the world. We are, in my opinion, the greatest country in the world. We are not perfect. None of us who serve in Congress, none of us in the executive branch, are perfect people.

But the Republican party is focused on the issue of national security. We, as Republicans, understand that if we don't maintain our freedom, then nothing else matters. The way we maintain our freedom is to make sure that we have strong borders and that we protect against attacks like the ones that hit us on September 11, 2001. We are focused on that, and I think that the administration has done a great job of keeping us from being attacked again.

What are the Democrats doing in that respect? Today, they managed to release their so-called ``national security agenda.'' We have been waiting for this plan that they say they are going to roll out where they say they can do things better.

One of the things their agenda calls for is improving border security. Now it is really curious that is what they say. They think they can tell the American people something that the American people will believe, and that we will ignore what they have done. Let me talk about what Republicans have done and what the Democrat reaction has been to that.

Last year, House Republicans passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act, as well as the REAL ID Act. How do these bills protect our border?

The Border Security Act increases penalties for illegal immigration and holds violators accountable to restore the integrity of our Nation's borders, reestablish respect for our laws, and help ensure that terrorists cannot enter the United States.

The REAL ID Act federally standardizes the requirements for applying and issuing State identification cards, because the 19 hijackers responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks carried between them 13 valid driver's licenses and 21 State-issued ID cards.

How do the Democrats vote on these issues? They are telling you now that they want to protect the border, and that is a part of their national security agenda. Well, 164 of the Democrats opposed the Border Security Act, and 152 opposed the REAL ID Act. So the Democrats now want to improve border security?

Here is a tip for them, Mr. Speaker. They need to start voting for legislation that does exactly that. They need to quit talking and start doing.

Today, when I was listening to them doing 1 minutes, something occurred to me, the motto of the State of North Carolinas is Esse Quam Videre, To Be Rather Than to Seem. I kept thinking that the Democrats never want to admit what they are, but rather they want people to think that they are something else. I think that they are the antithesis of the motto for North Carolina, To Be Rather Than to Seem, because they just want to seem to be something that they are not at all.

Earlier tonight, I heard somebody say, the Democrats will never agree to what their real agenda is, because it is so much opposed to the values of average Americans that if they admit to their real agenda, admit to their real values, they can't ever get elected again.

I think that it is very important that we continue to talk about border security and other things as it relates to national security.

The Democrats also voted against the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security helps prevent domestic terrorist attacks and assists the recovery and response efforts in the event of a terrorist attack. It passed the House 261-161. One hundred twenty Democrats opposed.

Last night we mentioned the PATRIOT Act conference report that strengthens our national security by giving law enforcement the tools they need to wage the war on terror and includes new oversight measures so that security and liberty remain balanced. It passed the House 251-174 with 157 Democrats opposing. The Democratic leader in the Senate bragged that they had killed the PATRIOT Act, and then when the PATRIOT Act came back, they short of sheepishly voted for it, wanting everybody to think that it was all okay and to forget about their bragging that they had killed the PATRIOT Act.

What about intelligence votes that weakened our national security before September 11? We might not have had September 11 if we had had an even stronger national security and if the Democrats had gotten on board with making sure that we could do all that we needed to do. In 1998, Representative Pelosi was one of only 31 Representatives who voted against authorizing appropriations for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the U.S. Government for the CIA and related agencies. Several bills are outlined there.

In 1996, she and 153 House Democrats voted to reduce the total amount authorized by the fiscal year 1997 intelligence authorization by 4.9 percent. Even when Pelosi and the Democrats were in charge of the House of Representatives, they voted to cut intelligence authorization by $500 million.

We are going to present every chance we get the facts about what the Democrats have done. We are going to present the facts through the Official Truth Squad. We are not going to let them get by with seeming rather than being. And I think that that is very, very important.

I want to quote our Majority Leader Boehner today in a statement that he made:

``While Democrats have openly advocated cutting and running from our efforts to support democracy in Iraq, Republicans continue to build upon our strong record on national security by funding our troops fighting terror around the world and supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

``While Democrats seem more interested in protecting the rights of terrorists than the American people, Republicans passed the PATRIOT Act to give law enforcement the tools necessary to combat terrorism, protect our citizens and secure our communities.

``While Democrats focus more on protecting the rights of illegal immigrants than enforcing our immigration laws, Republicans have voted to secure our borders, give law enforcement new tools to enforce our immigration laws and help prevent terrorist and criminal aliens from moving freely throughout our society. When it comes to national security, their answer is the same as it is for everything else, ``no.'' A media stunt will not eclipse their record of obfuscation and neglect on national and border security.''

Those are the comments from Majority Leader Boehner today. I endorse what he has said. I think he has hit the nail right on the head. Someone else said that the Democrats say, ``Do as we say, not as we do, on national security.'' That is another, I think, thing that we need to point out to the American people every chance that we get.

Again, we have to protect the freedom of this country. That is what allows us to do all the other great things that we do. Without national security, without freedom, we can't do any of the other good things. We are trying to bring freedom to other countries just as we have it here. It may take a little bit longer than it did in this country because of the very different cultural basis that we came from, but it is going to happen. We are going to help export freedom all over this world and that is going to help keep Americans free because that is what we have to do.

Representative Price, again, I want to thank you for the work that you are doing on helping us get out the facts and making sure that the Truth Squad presents the truth every night, and I would like to now turn my time back over to you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov