To watch Senator Capito’s remarks, click here or the image above.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking
Member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today spoke on the
Senate Floor to address the need for Congress
to work together in a bipartisan way to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) for FY22 at adequate levels. In the midst of a historic southern border crisis, Democrats’ proposed spending legislation would
actually cut funding from DHS.
HIGHLIGHTS:
HISTORY OF BIPARTISANSHIP: “Every year, it's a challenge to come up with a
bipartisan bill. It's difficult to fund the government, but every year we
managed to do it. The main reason being – that we've agreed on certain rules,
rules that transcend unique political situations, where both sides know are
required in order to reach an agreement. We realize we got to give on each
side.”
IN THE MIDST OF A BORDER CRISIS: “Don't forget we're in the midst of a continuing
crisis on our southern border. Democrats have cited the supposed reduction in
border encounters as evidence that President Biden and Vice President Kamala
Harris's immigration policies are working. It is true that encounters have gone
down, they've gone down from record highs in July and record highs in October.
That's right. This October's numbers, which are the last numbers that we have,
were the highest recorded numbers of any October in history – and that's
astonishing.”
DEMOCRATS REDUCED FUNDING PROPOSAL: “A full year FY22 bill that does not address these
real problems at our border – it's not reasonable, either. But that's what the
majority’s homeland bill does. Literally, the first sentence of the summary
says, and I quote, ‘the fiscal year 2022 Homeland Security bill provides discretionary
funding of $71.7 billion, which is $65 million less than what the President
asked in his budget and $136 million less than the 2021 enacted level that
we're living under right now.’ That's right. The DHS bill, introduced by the
majority, that we're now told is better for the department than a CR, actually
reduces funding from last year's levels.”
MISGUIDED PRIORITIES FROM THE MAJORITY: “Allow me to cite another telling line from the
majority's Homeland Security summary that I've mentioned before, listed in
their key points and highlights for Homeland Security. The very first one that
they list is ‘addressing impacts of climate change and improving climate
resilience.’ They don't mention number one, border security. They don't mention
number one, cybersecurity. They don't mention number one, disaster relief and
recovery which is Homeland Security. They don't mention the Coast Guard.”
IMPORTANCE OF BIPARTISANSHIP ON BORDER SECURITY: “Illegal border crossings remain at a record high.
We need to squash this delusion that things are getting better. The American
public is well aware that they aren't. Therefore, we need to provide the proper
resources to the agencies in charge to fix the problem. Not perpetuate the
crisis….We need to come together as Democrats and Republicans in the spirit of
true compromise to avoid that outcome. We can only do that if we understand
each other's true interests.”
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