OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Secure Our Borders

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 29, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Government Operations

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Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government has fully reopened, and Federal employees are back to work. While the shutdown is over, the crisis at the border remains.

I recently toured the southern border in Arizona. Ranchers and Border Patrol agents told me about the challenges they face because of open borders. I saw short, weak, barbwire fences that line our border. I learned more about violent cartels and how they profit from our porous borders, from human trafficking and the flooding of drugs into our communities.

Congress has an obligation to secure our border. We must give Border Patrol agents the tools they need to get their job done. They told me they need equipment to detect drugs, and more and better body armor.

Border Patrol agents also told me that they need a wall. They know walls work. Congress should listen to them.

Tomorrow, the conference committee tasked with border security will meet for the first time. Having seen the border crisis firsthand, I urge those lawmakers to listen to our Border Patrol agents, fund meaningful physical barriers, and secure our borders.

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