Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President.

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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Reserving the right to object, I want to make
one thing very clear. I am here today to ensure accountability to the American people.

I voted to support Ms. Easterly's confirmation in committee last week, and if Senator Schumer filed for cloture, like he has done for dozens of other nominees this year, I would vote to support her confirmation here on the Senate floor. This isn't about Ms. Easterly. This isn't about cyber security. Remember, we unanimously confirmed the National Cyber Director just last week.

I am here today because families in my State of Florida and across our Nation deserve accountability, and President Biden has shown a total lack of accountability when it comes to addressing the border crisis. That is why I announced last month that I would be holding all of President Biden's nominees for the Department of Homeland Security from being approved through our expedited process until he and Vice President Harris visit the border and they see for themselves the crisis their failed policies of open borders and amnesty have created.

I understand the White House has just announced that Vice President Harris will be visiting the border later this week. I hope that is true. The administration has made a lot of promises that they haven't kept, like not raising taxes, reopening schools quickly, being tough on Communist China--the list goes on and on.

Trust me, I am glad the Vice President seems to be taking my advice and finally listening to the American people. I truly hope that she gets down to the border to see the crisis firsthand that her administration and their failed policies have created.

I hope she meets with the National Border Patrol Council and hears from them what our brave CBP agents are going through every day to keep us safe.

I hope she meets with border community sheriffs who are responsible for keeping our families safe

I hope she meets with ICE and CBP section chiefs so she can hear firsthand the impact on them.

I hope she takes an aerial tour, like I did, and sees the gaps in the wall.

I hope she sees where the lights and cameras are sitting powerless, without electricity, and unable to be used to monitor our border.

I hope she meets with families who have been the victims of trafficking and hears the horrific stories they have and what they have been through because of this crisis.

I hope she visits border communities that have been put in a position to house and care for the historic number of people illegally crossing our border.

I hope she talks with families who have tragically lost loved ones from the massive amounts of fentanyl that the cartels are moving across our border.

I hope she talks to the ranchers impacted by people illegally crossing their lands.

More than anything, I hope this isn't a political stunt. If she truly goes to see this crisis, I will lift all of my holds of DHS political nominees. It is that simple.

What is happening at the border is a crisis; there is simply no other word for it. It has been 3 months since I traveled to the southern border to see exactly how President Biden's open borders and amnesty policies are wreaking havoc. I took a tour with Governor Ducey. We did an aerial tour. What you see is a wall and then all of a sudden, these openings. They intentionally didn't put up the gates.

I remember my colleagues were saying: Oh, we don't need the wall. We have lights and cameras so they can monitor from someplace else.

They are out there; they are just not hooked up to electricity, intentionally. I mean, you can't make this stuff up.

It has been 3 months since I made clear that President Biden and Vice President Harris need to get to the border and see the crisis their administration has created. It has been 3 months since they pledged to visit the border. Since then, as you all know--you look at all the numbers--apprehensions at our southern border are at a record high. More than 180,000 illegal aliens tried to cross our southern border last month and were apprehended--the highest in 21 years. This is a crisis. It threatens our national security and the safety of American families. And we don't know how many people we didn't apprehend.

President Biden's immigration policies are putting unaccompanied minors at risk of human trafficking, violence, sexual abuse, and separation from their families. They are leading to an alarming increase in human trafficking and drug smuggling by cartels.

FBI Director Wray said this month that there is ``no question'' that cartel activity from Mexico is ``spilling over'' into the United States. We are seeing it here in Florida. I talk to sheriffs. What they are telling me is that unbelievable amounts of fentanyl are coming across the border and getting into our State, putting Florida families in danger. I was down at one lab, and they were telling me that two people died that week from fentanyl.

But instead of securing the border and finishing wall construction projects, President Biden is terminating all of the wall projects. Why would you be doing this?

The inaction by President Biden and Vice President Harris is inexcusable. I don't know what they are waiting for. Why can't they acknowledge that a secure border is the best thing for our Nation? If you talk to people around this country, they want a secure border. Why can't they stand up against the radical left and say that open borders are dangerous to American families?

Two weeks ago, the Vice President went to Guatemala and Mexico. While she was there, she was asked by Lester Holt when she was going to go to the border, and she laughed. I mean, this is not a laughing matter. This is a crisis, and people are dying because of this crisis. It should make all of us furious.

People are dying. Children are being exploited, and they are being abandoned in the desert. Earlier this week, two Ecuadorian children-- two little girls, 3 and 5 years old--were dropped over a 14-foot section of the border wall. We all saw the pictures. They were abandoned there in the middle of the night, two innocent little girls, just 3 and 5 years old. Can you imagine how terrified they were? I mean, I think of my daughters. I think of my grandchildren. We all do. We all think, how would our family deal with that? It just breaks your heart.

The Vice President claims the Vice President's trip down to Guatemala and Mexico was to talk about the root cause of immigration. I don't believe that. The Vice President's trip wasn't anything more than a poorly executed political stunt.

President Biden and Vice President Harris need to stop avoiding the crisis, stop laughing off this threat, get to the border, and take real steps. As I said, once they actually go to the border and actually see the crisis, I will lift my hold. This is all to make sure they go to the border. But as long as they refuse to help those risking their lives every day to keep us safe, as long as they refuse to visit the border and put an end to the humanitarian crisis they created, I am going to keep my holds on.

Those two little girls and all the people who have been trafficked-- they deserve better. The millions of immigrants in our country going through a legal process--they deserve better. Our Border Patrol agents--they deserve better. All American families deserve better.

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