Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Capito’s floor speech.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, delivered remarks on the Senate Floor regarding the historic crisis at the southern border, the need for substantive border policy changes to be included in a national security supplemental Congress will consider, and the deep ties between the security of the United States and that of our allies.

Senator Capito’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below:

“Mr/Madam President—

“As this body continues to discuss the need for a national security supplemental, I rise today to discuss the important elements that need to be included and to once again emphasize the growing demands for increased border security in our country.

“For a nation as powerful and impactful as ours, there are obligations that we inherently have to meet, both to ourselves and our allies.

“At the center of those obligations rests defending our homeland. This security is imperative to the sovereignty of our nation.

“With our other obligation being to support our allies abroad as they face hostility. We must realize that these two priorities are deeply woven together. We cannot achieve national security as a whole, without securing our own borders.

“In fact, President Biden’s own National Defense Strategy reflects this sentiment, citing protection of the homeland as the number one defense priority.

“It is essential that border security remains one of the four pillars that needs to be included in any national security supplemental that is approved by Congress.

“In order to properly secure and defend our allies, we must properly secure and defend our own nation at the same time.

“As I have said on this floor many times before, there is no doubt that we currently live in a time of heightened national security concern. Not only is this concern felt around the globe, but also in every state and community in our own country because of the crisis on our border.

“We see the chaos, we see the monthly records of illegal crossings, and we see how those who are truly seeking asylum are being disadvantaged by the cartels and smugglers who are playing the system.

“It is obvious that the policies which have led to this crisis need to be addressed and reformed.

“I often talk about American leadership and our historic ability to respond with strength in times of crisis. Well, this is a time of crisis, and our porous southern border is something that we desperately need to act upon.

“It is not lost on me or my Republican colleagues the urgency to address the four central national security emergencies of our time.  

“Ukraine is facing an unjust and unprovoked ground-war perpetrated by Russia. Our ally and friend Israel is under attack by terrorists that are holding women and children hostage. Our allies in the Indo-Pacific face heightened concern as rival nations increase their aggression. And in the United States, we are facing the worst border crisis in our nation’s history.

“These four areas are directly tied together.

“Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and stave off Russian aggression relates directly to the security of Taiwan and the increased posture of China.

“The terroristic attacks perpetrated on Israel have led to the attacks on U.S. military bases and ships, as well as the alarming rise in anti-Semitism that we are seeing around the globe.

“Nations directly opposed to the United States, our values, and our way of life are building an uneasy level of comradery between one another and you can guarantee that these nations are watching our self-created security crisis at our border and waiting to see when we will finally wake up and react.

“Our country must take notice of this.

“The supplemental text before us does not make any policy changes, but instead throws more money at a broken system. It doesn’t address the actual policies that are fueling this crisis.

“The changes in border policy that my party seeks are not ‘partisan and extreme measures’ as the Democratic Leader would lead you to assume. But rather, substantive solutions that address the national security threats that we are facing.

“We encountered a six-fold increase of individuals on our terror watch list in the past year. Half of the illegal encounters on our border are not from Mexico or the Northern Triangle of Central America. Drugs that are made on the other side of the world are smuggled into our country daily with the goal of sowing destruction and sorrow.

“We do not know who or what is entering through our borders and that cannot be a risk that we are willing take. The truth of the matter is, this doesn’t need to be a partisan issue.

“We’re not just talking about funding, but rather changes that ensure those who enter our country are coming through legal channels and that they are properly vetted. Both things that we should all agree are necessary aspects of a working immigration system.

“But instead, the Biden administration has incentivized abuses of our asylum laws that have led to the greatest border crisis in our nation’s history. That has, in turn, put our national security at risk.

“This is not an issue that Republicans brought up in the 11th hour of a negotiation but rather something that we have continued to highlight the entire time that President Biden has been in the White House.

“Members of Congress cannot continue to ignore the deep ties between the sovereignty of the United States and the sovereignty of our allies abroad.

“The supplemental that we have been discussing for weeks is about helping our allies, but also about advancing our interests. The border is a big part of our interest.

“This is not a time to play games but instead the time to meet the challenges of the moment. While others refuse to accept the reality of the landscape that we face, Republicans remain at the table.

“For too long we have been on this floor voting on radical nominations to advance the Biden administration agenda. Instead of the legislation needed to help solve many of the problems we are facing, including border security and our weakened defense industrial base.

“All that serves to do is waste time that we simply do not have. We must seek agreements that address our concerns, that provide necessary relief, that strengthen our security, and that move the interests of the United States forward.

“I heed my colleagues in this chamber to recognize that. The time to invest in the national security of the United States and our allies abroad is now.

“With that, I yield the floor.”

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