Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages S1151-S1152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as recently as a few days ago, our
government funding discussions seemed to be in a pretty good place.
Bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on finishing out the year's
appropriations process seemed to be right on track. We appeared headed
toward a compromise result that would have provided much needed
investments in border security and completed our remaining
appropriations bill to fully fund the government.
Last week, the Democratic leader seemed confident that ``we worked
out a plan to refund the government, deal with border security in a way
that would be acceptable to all sides. That's working pretty well.''
Just this past Friday, the ranking member of the Appropriations
Committee, Senator Leahy, suggested that ``we're 95 to 98 percent
done.''
But then over the weekend, we heard that the talks had suddenly hit a
snag. The bipartisan momentum had stalled. What went wrong? Here is
what happened. The House Democrats decided to add a poison pill demand
into the conversations at the eleventh hour. It is a new demand. It is
really extreme--a hard, statutory cap on the number of illegal
immigrants who could be detained by the Federal Government. This would
result in the release of thousands of criminal aliens and our inability
to detain thousands more criminal aliens whom our Federal and State law
enforcement authorities will apprehend.
This is a poison pill that no administration--not this one, not the
previous one--would or should ever accept. Imagine the absurdity of
this. House Democrats want to set a limit on how many criminal aliens
our government can detain. This is a limit that is not based on any
aspect of reality, such as how many criminal aliens there actually are
or what crimes they have committed; it is just an arbitrary number a
couple of lawmakers have pulled out of thin air. The consequence of
such an arbitrary limit is obvious: Thousands of criminal aliens would
simply be released into the interior of our country, both immediately
and then on a rolling basis into the future.
The National Sheriffs' Association explained this in a letter to
Chairman Shelby and Senator Leahy. Here is what the sheriffs had to
say:
Capping the number of detention beds . . . not only
jeopardizes the integrity of the immigration system, but
would cripple ICE's ability to detain criminal aliens and
other aliens who pose a risk to public safety or are a flight
risk. . . . In order to meet the cap tentatively proposed by
Congress, ICE would be compelled to release thousands of
aliens from custody.
That is what the National Sheriffs' Association had to say about it--
released, just like that, right out into the United States of America.
It is hard to believe this is where some Democrats are--a get-out-of-
jail-free card for criminals because the radical left doesn't like U.S.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Let me say that again. It is a
get-out-of-jail-free card for criminals because the radical left
doesn't like U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
It is hard to believe the ``Abolish ICE'' fringe among House
Democrats actually thinks enforcing our laws is wrong. It is hard to
believe a group of House Democrats see kneecapping American law
enforcement as a higher priority than keeping the government open. But
it would be even harder to believe that leading Democrats would be open
to this craziness and would let this last-minute poison pill scuttle
the entire appropriations process.
Just last year, when the Democratic leader was highlighting
productive, bipartisan work on this appropriations process, he said:
``Both sides have worked to avoid poison pill riders. That has meant
steady progress.'' Ranking Member Leahy celebrated that through last
year's committee process, ``We avoided new poison pill riders.'' So I
hope my Democratic colleagues are able to talk some sense into their
side.
Some House Democrats are risking a second partial government shutdown
by calling for this absurd, last-minute poison pill. No administration
of any party would sign a bill that forced them to release criminal
aliens into
[[Page S1152]]
the interior of the United States. No administration would accept this
poison pill forcing the release of criminals now and on a rolling basis
going forward.
I understand that the four leaders on Appropriations in both Chambers
will be meeting in just a few minutes. I would implore my friends
across the aisle: Untangle yourselves from the most extreme far-left
voices out on the fringe. Do not let this radical fringe and its absurd
demand prevent you from taking yes for an answer. Don't let them
torpedo all of this bipartisan work.
This provision would, rightly, be a total nonstarter with the White
House--with any White House, not just this one. It would erase our
progress and kick us back to square one. It is a total poison pill,
pure and simple.
The American people are not clamoring for more aliens with criminal
backgrounds to be roaming at large in their communities. I never heard
anybody ask for that. And they certainly are not so eager for that
outcome that they want another partial shutdown in order to achieve it.
My Democratic colleagues in this Chamber need to see this stunt for
what it is, bring their side back to the table, and finish our work for
the American people.
____________________
