Choosing Life
Floor Speech
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am going to start with what it means when we talk about being pro- life.
Mr. Speaker, let this sink in: 65,464,760 precious babies have been killed in abortions since Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Mr. Speaker, I have three children, eight grandchildren, and even a great-granddaughter.
As a Christian and as a father of those three children and a grandfather of those eight, the issue of abortion is extremely personal to me. Every single unborn child is a human life wonderfully made and worth protecting.
I can tell you from experience, Mr. Speaker, that the joy that children bring into the world is unparalleled. They are a gift from God that He gives to all of us. We need to look no further than Jeremiah 1:5 to know God's love for each child: ``Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart.''
In Deuteronomy 30:19, we are called to choose life. Moses is laying out for the Israelites the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience.
He says in Deuteronomy 30:19 that we are called to choose life.
``I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: Therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live.''
Mr. Speaker, when we are choosing the death of an unborn child by abortion, then our unborn seed is not living.
Our great Nation has carried this belief in and respect for life from the very moment of our founding. Our forefathers noted that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are granted to each of us, assuming we have the chance to begin living that life, yet, our society seems to struggle with that simple proposition.
Life allows for liberty and liberty allows for the pursuit of happiness. Without the fundamental right to life, our society begins to look vastly different. Without the fundamental right to life, we have neither liberty nor happiness.
Then on June 24, 2022, after almost 50 years of living--many of us would say dying--under the tragically unconstitutional Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. What a victory. The voiceless, once again, finally have a voice.
As thousands prepare to stand for life in our Nation's Capital, my Republican colleagues and I continue our fight for life by voting for the Pregnant Students' Rights Act and the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act.
I will always, always, Mr. Speaker, stand up and protect life.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is exactly correct. In Texas, the border is important to us.
Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely no secret that the Biden administration has purposefully and willfully destroyed over 100 years of immigration policy, resulting in 8-million-plus illegal crossings since Joe Biden took office.
Mr. Speaker, I have been visiting the Texas border since my time in the Texas State House back in 2009. I was vice chair of the border committee my second term there. I got back from the border earlier this month, and I am heading back to the border soon.
What we are witnessing now is the worst I have ever seen. It is the worst that the Border Patrol agents and the Texas law enforcement officers have ever seen. They told us that in person.
Mr. Speaker, Joe Biden is responsible for creating the policies that are encouraging illegal immigration and he will not work in good faith with Republicans to fix the problem he created.
Mr. Speaker, we passed a border bill, H.R. 2, strong legislation to secure the American border. We passed that over 6 months ago. Just in the Border Patrol's Del Rio sector, we are seeing folks come across from countries like Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and China just to name a few, and over 300 documented cases of smuggling since October.
How many terrorists on 9/11 took down the World Trade Center? Nineteen.
Now we can identify a whole lot more terrorists coming in--300 documented cases of smuggling, as I said, since October. The weekly revenue for illicit human smuggling--let this sink in--$30 million a week. That is $120 million a month in the Del Rio sector alone, Mr. Speaker.
These are the people that Joe Biden is encouraging and enticing to come into our communities. We don't even know their background. Therefore, I can't say with confidence that we trust the Biden administration to perform due process, as he calls it, in processing illegal aliens before releasing them into our communities, into our States, and into our Nation.
This administration has a deliberate strategy to keep the border open and to continue the chaos, but Texas has had enough. Americans have had enough. Republicans are united to do whatever it takes to secure our southern border.
It is so simple, Mr. Speaker. All that the Biden administration needs to do to deter illegals and stop this crisis is to actually enforce laws already on the books.
Unfortunately, it has become painfully clear that President Biden prefers, instead, for 8 million or more illegal aliens to resettle in all 50 States and play a cynically partisan role in the future of American life by trying to make Democrats a permanent majority, or so they think.
They refuse to acknowledge what we understand so clearly, Mr. Speaker: it is simply that Americans of all stripes, all walks, all persuasions want a secure border.
The American people want these four things: End catch and release, Mr. President; build the wall, Mr. President; cease abuse of parole authority; reinstate remain in Mexico, Mr. President. It is just that simple. Secure the border, President Joe Biden.
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