On the recordSeptember 27, 2019
The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows), my good friend, is a true conservative. I know him. I know him well. We have had many, many discussions. The gentleman is a true conservative, and he really does believe in the Constitution. The gentleman made a most interesting argument that, in the legislation that ended the 35-day Trump shutdown, we should have put into that legislation prohibitions on this. Yes, indeed, we should have, had we any idea whatsoever that the President would so abuse the emergency authority as to literally rip away from Congress our appropriations powers. Keep in mind that we specifically put legislation and money forward for the border wall that solved the 35-day shutdown. The President signed that bill and then used the emergency power that is the subject of this debate and this resolution to usurp our appropriations power. He did that by going into the military and taking nearly $6 billion. And I understand he is looking for another $10 billion or so from the same source, using the same power. This is a direct attack on our appropriations power. Now, we have an emergency. You want to talk about an emergency? We are willing to work on emergencies and appropriate the necessary money. We have done so many times. In fact, there once was an offer for some $20-plus billion for all of this.
