Chuck Grassley: “reserving the right to object, I would like to speak to this issue a little bit and point out some of the shortcomings…”

“reserving the right to object, I would like to speak to this issue a little bit and point out some of the shortcomings of what Senator Merkley is trying to accomplish by amending my motion. I see this amendment merely cementing into place the Biden-Harris policy that lost more than 85,000 migrant children. Can you believe that? If there was any question whether Democrats prioritize speed over safety when it comes to pushing migrant kids out the door, this partisan amendment lays that question to rest. I think I made very clear, in giving reasons for my legislation, how this is really a big problem. Now, the text of what Senator Merkley is asking me to do mandates that the government make a placement determination for a child not later than 7 days after the government receives a sponsored application. Fingerprint-based background checks aren't required. And even the criminal record of a sponsor isn't necessarily disqualified. Now, a question: What if a sponsor has no preexisting relationship to the child? Think of that. Well, that is not a problem for this proposal. The fact that a sponsor has no preexisting relationship to a child cannot be the sole basis for denying sponsorship under this Democrat-led solution. This amendment just willy-nilly turns over children to sponsors who foot-drag on providing the documents needed to verify sponsor identity and safety.…”