February 14, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 29 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S1344-S1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, before I begin with my remarks, I would 
like to take a moment, as I think everybody here in the country should, 
to remember and honor all the lives lost 1 year ago today during the 
shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. It 
was a horrible act, as the Presiding Officer of the Senate is well 
aware, and its reverberations are still felt deeply today, especially 
among those who lost friends and loved ones, many of whom work day in 
and day out to keep their memory alive.
  We have before us on the floor today a bipartisan government funding 
measure, and as the chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations 
Subcommittee, I rise in support of the conference agreement to secure 
our border and fund our government and end any possibility of a 
shutdown at the same time. This agreement is a compromise between 
Republicans and Democrats, between the House and the Senate, and 
because it is a compromise, none of us really got everything we wanted.
  When you are working to reach an agreement, whether you are in 
government or in a family, it is important to understand the difference 
between compromising on details and compromising on your principles. 
While this agreement may compromise on some of the specifics, it does 
not compromise on our commitment to our Nation and to secure our 
Nation. That commitment is also shared by our President, who has been 
unwavering in his promise to strengthen our border. It is a goal we 
must achieve in a smart and informed way to address the real and ever-
changing challenges we face as a nation.
  On the border itself, I have been very clear that our agreement had 
to include three critical elements, three legs of the stool: physical 
barriers, technology, and personnel.
  There were a few sticking points with our Democratic colleagues. We 
did hear from the Speaker of the House that there would be no wall or 
there would not be $1 for the wall. Instead, this agreement provides 
almost triple the money for new wall construction that we appropriated 
last year. In fact, we will pay for 55 new miles of wall in the Rio 
Grande Valley where Customs and Border Protection has told us it is 
desperately needed. This agreement will build twice as many miles of 
new wall as last year's appropriations, despite the fact that we were 
negotiating with those who didn't want to have any wall.
  Would I have preferred more money for the wall? Of course. But this 
bill provides the most money ever in a single appropriations bill for a 
barrier. I drafted legislation--passed by the Senate Appropriations 
Committee last June--that would have fully funded the President's 
budget request for the wall. I would have voted for higher amounts--and 
did, actually, in committee--of funding for the wall. That is

[[Page S1345]]

because I believe strongly that physical barriers are a vital part of 
securing our border. I saw it myself when I toured the borders in 
California and Texas. I saw the need. I saw how the walls work. And I 
will stand side by side with the President as he works to secure 
additional money to construct a border wall in the future.
  We got $1.375 billion, and that is a long way from $1. It is a 
critical downpayment on the President's ultimate border security goal. 
The best path forward to secure our border today is to pass this 
agreement.
  The bill also stands with the men and women of ICE, Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement. A statutory cap on the number of ICE detention 
beds would have required dangerous criminals to be released from ICE 
custody. It would have posed a threat to families and communities 
across the country, and it would have compromised an important 
principle. This agreement rejects that anti-ICE proposal.
  I have said many times that I support the men and women of ICE and 
their important work to secure our Nation, and that is why the 
agreement before us gives ICE the operational flexibility it needs to 
accomplish its goals. Taking advantage of the flexibility this bill 
provides, ICE can utilize 18 percent more detention beds than they are 
currently using. That means ICE can continue interior enforcement 
efforts and be ready to respond to any surges on the border, so it 
gives ICE the flexibility they need.
  I say to my friends who, like me, want more money for the wall: This 
agreement is better for the wall and better for ICE than any other 
alternative. Rejecting this agreement will cost dozens of miles of new 
wall and jeopardize ICE's ability to detain dangerous criminals.
  Another government shutdown cannot and should not be allowed to 
happen. We need to provide certainty to our Federal workers and the 
American people whom we serve. I also think we need to restore trust in 
our ability to work across the aisle, to work across party lines to 
reach settlement, negotiated settlement that moves us forward, because 
if we are in a stalemate, we are standing still. In my opinion, if you 
are standing still, you are actually going backward, and we don't want 
to do that as a nation.
  The work done by the men and women in our Federal workforce during 
the shutdown should continue to be applauded. Without pay and in a 
period of great uncertainty, thousands of men and women did their jobs 
at the highest level. We should be thankful for their service, and we 
are.
  One of the things I am proud of in this bill is a 1.9-percent pay 
increase for the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security. 
This is ICE. This is Border Patrol. To the Coast Guard, Secret Service, 
FEMA, we salute you.
  Under this agreement, we will also hire 200 new Border Patrol agents 
over the fiscal year 2018 funded level to defend and police our border, 
and we will add $600 million for nonintrusive inspection technology.
  As I have said before, border wall, personnel, and technology are all 
vital parts of securing our border. They are very critical in 
addressing the drug epidemic that has plagued my State of West Virginia 
and many other parts of this country.
  This bill includes the highest level of funding ever in a homeland 
security appropriations bill to combat the opioid epidemic--more than 
$700 million--and it has funds for investigations when it comes to 
human trafficking, looking into the dark web, and other crimes.
  The homeland security portion of this agreement also takes a major 
step forward in advancing our Nation's Coast Guard by building a new 
polar security cutter to help address operational needs in the Arctic. 
This is critical to our homeland security. We also address the needs of 
the TSA, the Secret Service, and FEMA--to name just a few of the other 
entities within this title.
  This bill is not the bill I would have written alone. I don't get to 
do that. It is the product of give-and-take that is necessary to forge 
a bipartisan consensus. It is a strong compromise that will help secure 
our border and make America safer.
  Senator Jon Tester, the ranking member of our subcommittee and the 
Senator from Montana, has been an excellent partner as we have worked 
to deliver a bill worthy of the men and women of the Department of 
Homeland Security. So I thank him for his efforts throughout this 
process. We have worked very well together.
  I also want to thank Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy for 
their work in guiding the Appropriations Committee to a deal. These are 
seasoned appropriators who know how to get the job done. Their 
leadership has demonstrated that the Appropriations Committee can come 
together and forge bipartisan consensus in the national interest.
  The leaders of the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Nita 
Lowey, whom I know very well; and Ranking Member Kay Granger, who is a 
good friend of mine from my service in the House; as well as my 
counterpart in the House and chairman of Homeland Security, Lucille 
Roybal-Allard; and Ranking Member Chuck Fleischmann, of the Homeland 
Security Subcommittee. They deserve our gratitude for forging ahead 
with a willingness to negotiate.
  I also appreciate the contributions of all the members of our 
conference committee, and I would like to thank a group of individuals 
who have dedicated a lot of nights, weekends, and family time to this 
effort. Their knowledge of the facts and their commitment to the cause 
never waned, even though their time to sleep did wane. Shannon Hines, 
who is Chairman Shelby's right-hand woman on the committee, was 
fantastic. Thank you to Adam Telle, Peter Babb, Christian Lee, Chris 
Cook, and Thompson Moore of the Homeland Security Subcommittee staff, 
which I chair, as well as to my own appropriations staffer, J.T. 
Jezierski. I say thank you--a big thank you.
  I have spent the majority of my time today and the last several weeks 
on my bill--our bill. My thanks and congratulations also go to my 
fellow chairmen who have titles in this package. They have produced 
legislation that will help West Virginia expand access to broadband, 
combat the opioid epidemic, enhance our transportation, foster economic 
development, and advance scientific research and discovery. They, too, 
faced similar challenges to draft bipartisan legislation, and they too 
got it done.
  In closing, although conferees compromised on details, we did not 
compromise our principles. Passing this conference agreement is in our 
national security interest. It will provide the resources, the 
direction, and the support that the President has said many times he 
needs to protect our Nation.
  I am very proud to have been a part of this process, and I encourage 
my colleagues to join me in a bipartisan fashion in passing this bill 
later this afternoon.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.

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