Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendments to H.R. Consolidated Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.J. Res. Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Critical Mineral Dominance Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. FINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend Representative Jack for asking me to do that. I think he has raised the expectations here, so we will see what I can do.

Mr. Speaker, I have been in Congress now for 10 months, and this is the second time the government has been shut down. What is similar in them both is the reason because Democrats have put the priorities of illegal immigrants over the priorities of the people that we swore an oath to protect; that is, the American citizens.

A few months ago, the shutdown was to try to give illegal immigrants free healthcare, and now the shutdown is simply over whether they should go home. What we are dealing with is a fetishization of illegal immigrants that I simply can't understand. Sometimes I think it is delusion, that they live in a world of sunshine and rainbows and pixie dust and unicorns where anyone who wants should be able to come to the United States; that everyone is good; that no one causes a problem; that they can get all the free stuff they want; that they can vote in our elections; and everything will work out just fine. That is not how it works.

We hear a lot about the two Americans who were killed. It is unfortunate that that happened. What I would note is, if they had been staying away from law enforcement while law enforcement was doing their job--which is to round up and send home people who are in our country illegally, who have been told to leave and refuse to do so--nothing would have happened to them.

Do you know who they don't talk about? They don't talk about the estimated 500 Americans that are killed each year by illegal immigrants. Why do we not know their names? What about their families? That is 500 families whose lives are destroyed, 500 spouses and mothers and fathers and children who are dead because of someone who should not have even been here. That is who I swore an oath to protect.

Mr. Speaker, let's make no mistake what this is about. Democrats do not care about illegal immigrants. They don't care at all. What this is about is political power. That is what this is about because the States that they run, real Americans, actual Americans, people who should be able to vote in our country, are fleeing in droves. U-Haul business is going through the roof in places like New York and California, and they are moving to my State of Florida.

As Americans leave these horribly run States that do not cooperate with law enforcement, where they release these criminals out on to the streets, the only way they can retain power is to import illegal immigrants to try to hold on to their seats in this House, to try to hold on to their Federal funding, and to try to hold on to their elections. That is what this debate is about.

I believe that we need to move forward today because all this vote is right now is a vote on whether to discuss and vote on whether to reopen the government.

I will be honest. There are things in the underlying appropriations bills that make my stomach churn, but I believe we have an obligation to the American people to have that debate and to have that vote. To vote against the rule means you do not believe the American people should even have the possibility of having the government reopened again.

I came here to fight to make sure there are not another 500 families next year and 500 the year after and 500 the year after. We need to get the government reopened. We need to get our folks back to work, and we need to be focused not on illegal immigrants, not on people who shouldn't be here, but those who should and have the right to be and have the right to be safe. That is why I will be voting for the rule today, and I hope all of my colleagues do, as well.

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Mr. FINE. Mr. Speaker, I would just point out that we don't run the show. I wish we did. Perhaps the gentleman from Massachusetts wants to work with me to encourage the Senate to get rid of the filibuster because we have to tell the truth in this process.

If we could pass this budget with 51 votes, and we didn't, then that point would be valid and that criticism would be just. We don't have 60 votes in the Senate. We are relying on Democrats to join us in order to get it over the finish line.

A deal was cut, apparently, where we made a deal that we said we will pass all of these bills as one package. Republicans voted for things they didn't like because, allegedly, Democrats in the Senate would go along at the end. As sometimes happens, people don't keep their word.

That package that was negotiated, that was agreed upon, and that was a compromise between all parties failed to pass. What we must agree upon, what we must say, and what is absolutely true is that we don't control the show in the Senate.

The last thing I would say is this. It was brought up about how I spoke about those tragedies in Minnesota, and I did, but we need to be careful. When we talk about people being murdered in Minnesota because they were lawfully carrying a gun, using their Second Amendment rights, we are belying decades of concealed-carry classes that tell people who are carrying guns how they should behave around law enforcement.

Now, I know Democrats generally hate guns, and probably none of them carry concealed. As someone who does and who has many friends who do, we are told not to physically confront law enforcement when we are carrying that gun, which is exactly what happened here.

Do I wish he hadn't died? I absolutely do. We have to be careful because we don't want more of that to happen. When we say he did nothing wrong, we are setting the stage for more of that to happen. These words matter.

We have to tell the truth, whether it is the deaths of Pretti and Good or whether Republicans actually control the show in the Senate.

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