Further Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Floor Speech
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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a
rule and the underlying bill that would provide for funding for the
Department of Homeland Security for 3 weeks.
This short, six-line resolution, House Joint Resolution 35, would
provide certainty by taking a shutdown of the Department of Homeland
Security off the table.
So why are we here today? We are here because, last year, the
President brought forward a plan to grant executive amnesty to over 4
million illegal immigrants. I believe that the administration's actions
violate the rule of law, circumvent the role of the American people,
and undermine the Constitution.
These actions have failed the American people. Over the last few
years, the President's immigration policies have cost the Federal
Government millions of dollars. They have cost our States, our
communities, and our local schools and hospitals millions more.
I disagree with executive amnesty because I believe it is unwise,
unlawful, and unconstitutional. That is why, 6 weeks ago, the House of
Representatives did its job. We passed a bill that provided for the
funding of the Department of Homeland Security and blocked the
President's executive amnesty actions.
We had an expectation that the Senate would then do its work, stand
up for the Constitution, while funding the Department of Homeland
Security. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats, including numerous Senators
who have argued repeatedly that no President can unilaterally change
the law, have blocked that bill.
That is why we are here today: because Senate Democrats refuse to
stand up and fight on behalf of the Constitution against the
President's executive amnesty plan. We would not be here with a short-
term solution if six--only six--Senate Democrats would stand up for the
American people and stop the President's executive amnesty plan.
Fortunately, Mr. Speaker, the State of Texas and others, including my
great home State of Georgia, stepped up to the plate and led a lawsuit
with other States against the President and his unilateral actions. A
judge in Texas ruled on that case 11 days ago and said that the
President's November executive amnesty action was illegal.
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As long as his injunction remains in place, no Federal dollars can be
used to fund the President's executive action on immigration. That
means that, for the time being, the President's plan has been stopped
dead in its tracks.
In the meantime, I believe the House must do everything it can to
fund the Department of Homeland Security at a critical time, which is
why I stand in support of the rule that will fund the Department
through March 19.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLLINS OF GEORGIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
This, frankly, is an understanding. This is not being brought forward
out of contempt, as has been said, Mr. Speaker, about this President.
This has to do with institutional integrity, that each branch has a
role, that each body within the Congress has a role. Do your job. That
is all we are saying. Make compromises where need be. Work to progress
where need be. But when you simply say, I will not do anything--and
especially with this executive amnesty action, which we believe should
not be funded--that is a valid point of view. We have got to come to
the table. But when the administration refuses to negotiate, the
American people see truly that we are not functioning, not because of
this House, but because of what is happening through, frankly, a
frustrating policy from this administration which wants to bypass
Congress.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there is something I will agree
with the previous speaker on. I agree this is not about the President.
It is about the process. It is about what we have all gone through and
said, this is how a bill becomes the law. If we need a reminder, then
let's talk about that.
Mr. Speaker, one of the questions that was just said is why we would
bring, why, when we have been here for the last 6 weeks bringing
spending bills and sending them over--let's talk about what we did do.
January 14, the House approves a full-year funding bill for DHS.
February 3, Senate Democrats vote to block consideration. February 4,
Senate Democrats vote again to block consideration. Uh oh, February 5,
around Groundhog Day, somewhere in that neighborhood, Senate Democrats vote a third time to block consideration. February 23, in case they forgot, Senate Democrats vote for a fourth time to block consideration.
Democrats even prevented themselves from offering amendments to strip
the language that they found offensive.
Mr. Speaker, is there just not a problem being developed here? We
find ourselves in a position today because Senate Democrats refuse to
be part of the solution. Again, this goes back to basic civics. Let's
work this out. Let's do what we need to do. This is about giving us
time to let the process work. And as the gentleman had said earlier,
what could be different? Maybe this will be different. Maybe the Senate
Democrats will learn they are in the minority. The American people
spoke in November, and it is time that we work together to find
solutions.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, again, I greatly respect my
friends across the aisle, but we do have to understand exactly what we
are bringing forward is not a bill we are bringing forward to shut down
the government. We are bringing something forward to fund it for the
next 3 weeks while we continue to work on a process of getting stuff
done.
Again, I agree with my colleagues. We are trying to fight. We had to
work on the 529 plan that, frankly, the administration had some issues
with. We fixed that here in the House this week. We are working on the
problems that matter to kitchen tables around this country. Republicans
are doing that, but they are also standing up for what we learned in
civics lessons, is that this is the way the legislative process works.
If I just need to repeat it one more time, let's go through it once
more. January 14, the House did its job. It approved a full-year
spending bill. February 3, Senate Democrats voted to block
consideration. February 4, Senate Democrats vote again to block
consideration. February 5, Senate Democrats vote a third time to block
consideration again--as we will go along, as you know, February 23,
same story, three times, fourth time removed.
Democrats even prevented themselves from offering amendments to strip
language they found offensive. I guess, after so many years of not
being able to offer amendments, they forgot how. They are preventing
their own selves from doing this in the Senate. It is time we act. This
is the issue that we are dealing with today and will continue to do so.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I think it is sort of interesting--and I appreciate my colleague from
Texas--but I think the well-reasoned response of the administration to
the issue that is going on, I think there just happens to be a contrary
opinion found in a Federal judge in Texas, so maybe so much for the
well-reasoned opinion.
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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I think the question that was just asked, Mr. Speaker, on the floor
is: Do we have the courage to tell first responders and others that we
will fund and put forward a bill to keep funding going for 3 years? The
answer is a resounding ``yes.''
The question would be to my friends across the aisle: Do you have the
courage to tell them that, this afternoon, you are going to vote
``no?'' That is the better question.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
It has been really an interesting morning discussing what we could
do, what we not do, and what we have done, and, actually, the fact and
the process of the House doing its job again and the Senate Democrats
not doing theirs. It is just very frustrating.
You talk about the American people. I tell you, from a Republican
standpoint, this is about administration. This is about a time in which
we are confronting, in which there is honest debate on both sides, but
when it comes down to the bottom line, it has been very true over the
course of these first 7, 8 weeks here that one party is putting forward
an agenda that says that moms and dads and kids matter, that the rule
of law matters, that things are to operate in a certain way, and they
are operating in the way that we grew up knowing civics from our
Founders that had a Constitution that laid out the path.
What is interesting right now is that really, right now, the House
Republicans, for the second time, are providing a path to keep the
Department of Homeland Security open for business while the judge,
Federal judge, has said the administration cannot go forward on their
executive amnesty memo, which means it is not happening right now. So
the question really becomes--and I don't think this can be stated
enough, because when people are out there looking to Washington, they
are wanting to know: Are you thinking about me? Are you thinking about
what is going on? Are you thinking about what we need to fund in the
days that people get up and they know that their country is fighting
for them?
So I just want to make it very clear. We said, ``for the second
time.'' This is the second time because the first time happened on
January 14. The House approved a full-year funding package for DHS, and
yes, said this is what we do not like and will not fund, but this is a
part of the process.
Then, February 3, Senate Democrats vote to block consideration.
February 4, Senate Democrats again vote to block consideration.
February 5, guess what. Senate Democrats vote for a third time to
block consideration.
February 23, let's at least make it a home run. We will touch all the
bases. Senate Democrats refuse, for the fourth time, to block
consideration.
But then, the most amazing part, Democrats even prevented themselves
from offering amendments to strip language they found offensive. We are
here today because the Senate Democrats refused to be part of the
solution.
So as I go forward and as I look at this, there has to be an
understanding of this today--and it was said earlier and I made the
point, but I am going to make it one more time today--a solution is
being put forward. There is no one putting forward a bill to shut
anything down. The bill that is being put forward is to fund for 3 more
weeks.
So I will encourage my friends on the other side of the aisle, any
Democrat who wants to vote ``no'' on this funding bill, you are voting
to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Is that what you want
to tell the American people?
With that, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the
underlying bill.
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