Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, this afternoon we will vote on whether to
go to conference on H.R. 240. For Senators who want to return to
regular order, this is their chance. Regular order is the opportunity
to offer, to have debate on, and to vote on amendments.

We have already established on earlier legislation that the majority
party is willing to return to regular order and to offer an open
amendment process. So part of establishing that regular order process
is, as I say, the opportunity to offer amendments, to have a debate,
and to vote. It is that process which should and has historically
produced the best legislation not only here in the Senate but in the
House--in this Congress--on behalf of the American people.

Another part of regular order, though, is conference committees. When
the House passes a bill and the Senate passes a bill and there are
differences in the bill, how do we resolve the differences in the bill?
We go to a conference committee. So that is what is before us right
now. This vote is simply to send H.R. 240 to a conference committee so
the House and the Senate can work on the legislation.

Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle filibustered H.R. 240.
Only when amendments were limited to one amendment did they allow us to
proceed to the bill. That is unfortunate, but clearly it was done to
protect the President's Executive order on immigration.

The irony is that the President's overreach should not be a partisan
issue. Our forefathers created a system of checks and balances in our
Constitution to protect the rights of our citizens. The legislative,
the executive, and the judicial branches all have a role to play in
this system of checks and balances. When one branch exceeds its
authority, the others have an obligation to check that overreach, an
obligation to protect the rights of our citizens.

That is exactly what has happened in this situation. The President's
Executive order on immigration exceeds his authority as the leader of
the executive branch. Now a Federal district court in Texas has issued
an injunction to stay the President's action, and that stay is in place
while the lawsuit against the President's action which has been filed
by 26 States is adjudicated. That is our role too. Just like the States
stepping up when the President has overreached his authority, just like
the Federal court stepping up when the President has exceeded his
authority, that is our role too--to protect the legislative power,
which is solely the power of the legislative branch, solely the power
of Congress.

So I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to send H.R.
240 to conference to see if we can find common ground. That is, after
all, regular order for the Congress.

I again remind our colleagues that this bill provides full funding
for the Department of Homeland Security. Let me once again summarize
some of that funding. The bill provides $10.7 billion for Customs and
Border Protection, CBP, including record levels of personnel, tactical
infrastructure, and technology in air and maritime assets. It provides
$5.96 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, and
maintains a record 34,000 adult detention beds and 3,828 family
detention beds. The bill strongly supports the vital missions of the
Secret Service and provides for cyber security efforts. It provides
more than $10 billion for the Coast Guard for its many missions,
including search and rescue. Since homeland security is a national
effort, the bill continues critical funding for grant programs to State
and local firefighters, emergency managers, and law enforcement. The
bill also provides for research and development, TSA's aviation
security screening operations, the Federal law enforcement training
centers, and E-Verify, which supports businesses across the United
States in hiring legal workers.

But in addition to that funding, we also need to check the Executive
action of the President on immigration. That is what our system of
checks and balances under our Constitution is all about. That is the
opportunity we have--to send this bill to conference with the House to
find a solution. Let's do that. Let's find a solution. Let's return to regular order in the
Congress.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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