Unanimous Consent Request

Floor Speech

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Mr. SHEEHY. Mr. President, we saw last weekend a terrible event and, yet again, a product which is of a self-governing society, which is sometimes--we get mad at each other, and sometimes that anger expresses itself at our elected leaders in tragic ways--in a third assassination attempt against our President at a venue that we also saw President Reagan, over 40 years ago, also was attacked at this venue. Unfortunately, that attempt was almost successful. Thank God it wasn't.

Presidents of both parties have been subject to violence throughout the course of our Republic, and that is part of what comes with being a self-governing nation--is that things can get messy. And, unfortunately, that is a reality of democracy and of living in a Republic.

But we don't have to make it easy, and we should be able to host--as the most powerful Nation in the history of the world, we should be able to have events in our Nation's Capital anchored by our President of either party, of Cabinet Members. We should be able to host heads of state without the expectation that gunfire will erupt at our places of gathering, that our Nation can host other nations here without them having to worry about being gunned down at an event that is hosting the President of the United States.

Our State Department issues travel advisories for other countries for exactly these reasons, and yet it happens right here in Washington, DC.

So it is incumbent upon us to make sure we can protect not just our own people, but also members of our government who are protecting and leading the greatest Nation in the history of the world.

The President has the statutory authority to make modifications, to make additions to Federal facilities, particularly the White House. And the ballroom project has long been considered by Presidents of both parties throughout the years. And the White House has been modified by Democrat and Republican Presidents alike, to make sure that our residence for the head of state can be safe, can be efficient, and can be a place of honor to host foreign heads of state, as well as our very own citizens.

Unfortunately, recently the district court decided in a partisan ruling that the President did not have the authority to do this. This is incorrect. The President does have the authority.

And the events of last weekend reminded us why both parties need to be able to have a head of state, an elected President of the United States, that can host events in a safe, secure location; that can host an appropriate number of people and not have to worry about violence erupting.

The ballroom project, as proposed by President Trump, would create a safe and secure location entirely funded by private donations. No taxpayer dollars are being spent. At a time when we are worried about our national debt, our ballooning debt, and we are trying to explain to Americans how we are going to make their lives more affordable, we should not be spending their money on a project like this, and we are not. This is private donations.

And, today, I am proposing the unanimous consent of a bill that would enshrine the already existing right of this White House--of any administration, of any President of either party--to make modifications to the Presidential residence. And in this case, modifications that are for the express purpose of a safe, secure venue, paid for by private donations, not taxpayer dollars.

And this legislation specifically includes language to ensure no donor can receive favorable treatment from any administration or any legislative body in exchange for these.

These are donations from companies who have benefitted from the greatest economy in the history of mankind. These are companies who recognize they are lucky to be American companies doing business in our Nation, and they are giving back to this great Nation by helping ensure our head of state can host functions in a safe, secure, and world-class venue.

I ask for support for this bill. I ask for support for the American President to be able to host world-class events because we all deserve to be safe and secure, and this facility never has been so needed than the events last weekend illustrated, but now is the time to do this. I hope this passes. I hope my colleagues allow this to pass so we can green-light this project to move forward.

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