Secure America Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, like the reconciliation bill before us, the past few weeks have been really eye-opening for the American public to see in plain view the clear priorities of President Trump and his allies here in Congress.

It is increasingly clear that their top priority is not addressing the affordability crisis that is hurting so many families across the country, families who are struggling just to get by.

The proposals, the actions of the Republican majority and the White House isn't trying to tackle the cost of healthcare; it is not trying to tackle the cost of housing; it is not reducing the price of gas-- that is for sure--or addressing the increasing costs of groceries.

The end result of the proposals before us continue to be personal gain for the President and those around him, plain and simple.

But I don't think we should really be surprised by that. Don't take my word for it. We are talking about a political party whose President--the leader of that party, who has said publicly, his own words: I do not care about Americans' financial situation.

Let me repeat that. A President, leader of the Republican Party who says: I do not care about Americans' financial situation.

It doesn't get any clearer than that, folks, because whether it is a late-night social media post or what he says in front of the cameras for everybody to hear, this President has no problem telling us exactly what his priorities are.

And his priorities are clearly not Americans' financial situations. His priorities include an abomination of a ballroom that he wanted the American people to pay for to the tune of $1 billion after repeatedly saying that it wouldn't cost a single taxpayer dollar, that it would be privately funded.

Another one of his priorities is ensuring immunity for himself and for his family, and shoring up support from his MAGA loyalists, including the January 6 insurrectionists who were prosecuted for violently attacking the Capitol, violently attacking Capitol Police.

He was trying to advance a self-serving corrupt slush fund to pay off his supporters. That is his priority.

Here is another one just from yesterday: selecting an unqualified person Bill Pulte into an extremely sensitive position within our government as head of the Director of National Intelligence whose track record leads us to see plainly their goal of interfering in our elections or politically pursuing anyone the President perceives as being an enemy.

These are the President's priorities, colleagues, not helping working families. And as clear as day, as he has outlined these priorities, there is no pushback by the Republican majority. They continue to enable every single one of these efforts.

The ballroom, which is nothing other than a vanity project, that never should have happened in the first place. It is a tragedy that the East Wing was torn down without a discussion, without the consultation with Congress that is clearly required.

Yet for weeks, we heard Republican Members of Congress parroting the lame excuse of: For security reasons, this was a necessary project. But they have nothing to say about a UFC ring being built on the lawn of the White House. Really?

And by the way, what happened to the private donations that were supposed to be paying for the ballroom project? The President bragged about the $400 million--probably more--that he secured. So where is it? Where is that money?

We have to remain vigilant that the ballroom project funding does not appear in this new reconciliation bill or doesn't work its way back in.

Now while Acting Attorney General Blanche publicly stated yesterday that the so-called weaponization fund was not moving forward, it is really hard to take this administration at its word when they are constantly saying one thing and doing another--lies over and over to the American people.

When we first learned about their plans to create this fund, I actually came to the floor and asked that this floor pass by unanimous consent my No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act which I introduced back in January to stop this proposal in its tracks. Trump already gave pardons to January 6 insurrectionists. Let's not give them payouts as well.

So we must act to ensure that no one who attacked the Capitol and especially those who assaulted law enforcement officers that day can ever qualify for any kind of payout like this.

And again, a few words on Bill Pulte, Donald Trump's pick to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. It is clear that his only qualification--only qualification that matters to President Trump--is blind loyalty to President Trump, a willingness to do whatever Trump asks.

Now time and again, we have seen Pulte use sensitive information in his role at the Federal Housing Finance Agency to target Trump's political opponents. Don't just imagine what he might do, imagine what he will do with the sensitive information at his fingertips in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whether it is attacking opponents or finding new dangerous ways to advance Donald Trump's election corruption and efforts to take over--the President's words again--to take over elections.

Each of these is a misplaced and dangerous priority that Donald Trump puts over the needs of the American people. All these priorities do nothing to advance our national interest or improve the lives of working families across the country.

So let's not allow ourselves to be distracted from the biggest of the misplaced priorities at the heart of this reconciliation bill. When I hear some of our Republican colleagues say: OK. No ballroom here, no slush fund here--they don't commit to not coming back to it in other efforts.

They say: Let's come back to the intent and core of what this reconciliation bill was at the outset--billions and billions and billions of dollars more for ICE and CBP for immigration enforcement, the same Agencies that are still sitting on more than a $100 billion of previously approved and appropriated funds that they can't even spend.

What happened to fiscal responsibility? Instead of ensuring that money flows as Agencies can spend it, they are trying to ram more money to these Agencies while shielding them from oversight and accountability.

Let me remind us all of the deaths of Americans like Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Ruben Ray Martinez. Let me remind us of how this administration is using children like 5-year-old Liam Ramos as bait. Let me remind our colleagues about the price gouging that is happening, mothers and children at Dilley detention center having to pay so much just to access clean water and letting thousands of children languish in detention, jailing more than 6,200 children since the beginning of this administration.

That is a shame.

And now they want to shield them from more than 425 judges appointed by both Democrat and Republican Presidents, including some appointed by Donald Trump himself who have issued more than 10,000 rulings finding that ICE has violated the Constitution of the United States.

That is not an exaggeration: more than 10,000 findings of ICE violating the Constitution of the United States, violating due process, and violating Federal laws since the start of this Trump administration--10,000 rulings.

That is more than a 90-percent loss rate in court by this administration. This administration's immigration enforcement efforts have clearly not just been extreme and cruel, they have been unlawful and indefensible.

What we should be doing, colleagues, is discussing and debating ideas on how to help American families better afford their groceries, how to better afford the gas they put in their car because they have to get to work, help American families afford their mortgage or the rent, how to pay for childcare, how to pay for healthcare.

So many Americans are reeling from the ``Anything But Beautiful Bill,'' from the expiration of the ACA tax credits, and so many Americans are suffering from the experience of witnessing or having their children ripped from their arms, with loved ones, family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers disappearing into detention, many in the United States, many now in a foreign country.

They are suffering through all of that while still wondering how they are going to make ends meet at the end of the month. Those are the priorities for countless families across the country who are hurting and struggling right now that we should be focusing on. But instead, no, we are focusing on what this reconciliation bill offers in front of us.

I have said it before. I think most folks, at some point in this Chamber, have used the reference that budgets are a reflection of our values. A reconciliation bill is a budget bill. It, too, is a reflection of values and priorities. They reveal what we prioritize. They reveal what we stand for, what we fight for, and it serves as a guide to see if it truly reflects the needs and priorities of the American people or not.

If you look at this language, if you look at the concept of the reconciliation bill in front of us, it is clear that Donald Trump and our Republican colleagues have no interest in addressing the urgent needs of the American people.

So I ask, colleagues, let's reject this bill full of misplaced priorities. Let's actually regroup and put a bill together that will lower costs for American families, expand their opportunities, and help Americans get ahead.

And I guarantee you, if we were to do that in good faith, you wouldn't have to resort to this party-line, strictly partisan process of budget reconciliation. That would be something that would garner bipartisan support and be in the best interest of our country, our economy, and the needs of the American people.

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