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Floor Speech
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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the nomination of Chief Chris Magnus to lead the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office, and I was very pleased that the Senate Finance Committee could advance this important nomination.
I want to give the Senate a brief assessment of why I think Chief Magnus is going to handle his job very well.
He brings a unique combination of smarts, common sense, and fairness, and that is really what this job is all about. For example, having talked to the chief at some length, he understands that strongly enforcing our immigration laws and treating immigrants and asylum seekers humanely are not mutually exclusive. You can do both. They are not incompatible. It is a perspective, in my view, on immigration that is going to help our communities, help public safety, and help our economy all at the same time.
Now, there is no doubt in my mind that Chief Magnus has the right qualifications for this position. He is highly experienced. He started out in Lansing, MI, and has headed up law enforcement agencies across the country--East, West, North, and South.
Currently, he serves as the chief of police in Tucson, AZ. That means we will have an individual leading Customs and Border Protection who starts on day 1--day 1--with firsthand knowledge about the challenges law enforcement on the southern border.
Even beyond that specific element of Customs and Border Protection's work, his range of experience in law enforcement all over the country makes him an ideal pick to lead an Agency with tens of thousands of employees, staffing more than 300 points of entry to our country.
So I think that is the heart of why he is going to be such a positive force with respect to border security, but I also want to note that on the Finance Committee, we are acutely aware that Customs and Border Protection is not just in the business of immigration; it is also on the frontlines of enforcing American trade laws. And too often in the past, that part of the mission has just gotten short shrift.
Today, Customs and Border Protection is the heart of the effort to fight against immoral and unfair trade practices, including the use of forced labor in China and elsewhere. Customs and Border Protection not only investigates forced labor and demands remediation where appropriate, it also enforces the ban on forced labor products entering our country.
Staying a step ahead of trade cheats, whether they are involved in forced labor or not, is key to protecting American jobs, our businesses, and innovation. Workers and businesses depend on healthy, functioning supply chains. We have certainly seen, since the beginning of the pandemic, that when the supply chains break down, you have enormous headaches throughout the economy, from the biggest businesses right down to individual families who are shopping this holiday season for typical holiday goods.
During his nomination hearing, Chief Magnus assured the Finance Committee that Customs and Border Protection's trade mission is going to get the focus and the resources it needs if he is confirmed. He has committed to ensuring that there is adequate staffing at our ports, and he is interested in improving the efficiency of our customs operations in a way that maintains key protections for consumer safety.
He is a first-rate nominee. It is clear he has got the right priorities when it comes to Customs and Border Protection challenges that many of our Senators care about most--securing the border and helping to get supply chains back to normal.
I believe that he is going to work with all of the Members of this body on immigration and trade-related issues going forward in a way that brings Democrats and Republicans together. I am very happy to support him today.
And as our committee has spent the most time with the chief, I would like to say, as chairman of the committee, that I think he will reflect great credit on our country in a vital position, a position that comes up every day in activities across the land. He is the right person for this important job at the right time.
I urge all Senators to vote for Chief Magnus later today.
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