Steve Womack: “I thank my friend from Oklahoma for leading in this discussion. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the question on…”

“I thank my friend from Oklahoma for leading in this discussion. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the question on consideration. We should be taking up the Senate-passed bill. It has already been mentioned that it passed 84-8. We don't have a CBO score for the changes made by the House amendments to the bill, and without a CBO score, we don't know the cost this bill would have on State and local governments. Yesterday, in a budget hearing on matters of immigration, we heard testimony from the mayor of Yuma, Arizona, which clearly demonstrates the economic impacts and costs that States and local governments are incurring due to the crisis at the border. My friends just said changes made by the House on this Senate-passed bill take tens of millions of dollars away from the Department of Defense for reimbursement and limit the ability of Customs and Border Patrol to adequately pay for the services incurred as a result of this ongoing crisis. Madam Speaker, Democrats have had many opportunities to advance bipartisan solutions that would provide the kind of relief to these communities and begin to address the crisis at the border, and for nearly 2 months, they have refused to act. This week has been an unfortunate loss of precious time. This is a situation where Congress clearly needs to come together and act swiftly. I am sorry to say, we are falling short in this basic obligation of the duties of the Congress of the United States of America.…”