Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in strong opposition to President Trump's so-called emergency declaration of a crisis and invasion on our southern border, an attempt to misappropriate funds to build the President's border wall. The President's actions here are an affront to the constitutional separation of powers, our checks and balances, and the congressional power of the purse to set appropriation levels. The very nature of how President Trump decided, finally, to declare a so-called emergency at our southern border shows that he, too, knows that there is no real national emergency at our southern border. President Trump himself admitted, in announcing this so-called emergency in the Rose Garden: I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it much faster. It doesn't sound like a national emergency. We know that a medieval border wall would be a tremendously wasteful expenditure of resources, as opposed to smarter border security technology that would enhance screening at our ports of entry and specifically target transnational criminal operations smuggling contraband into the United States. The Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power of the purse. Article I, section 9, clause 7 provides that ``No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.'' Article I, section 8, clause 1 provides that ``the Congress shall have Power To . . .…”