Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to pass the national security legislation that is in front of us. It reaffirms our commitment to our partners across the globe. Now, earlier this week, we had an opportunity to move forward with this bill, plus provisions--important provisions--that have been negotiated by Senator Lankford of Oklahoma, Senator Murphy, Senator Sinema, and many others, that would have focused on border security--an issue that Senator Lee has been raising in his objections today. I think it is important that people understand the many opportunities we have had to move on border security, but this was a gleaming opportunity because it was negotiated by a conservative Republican from Oklahoma who had been designated by his caucus, someone many in this Chamber have deep respect for. And, unlike other pieces of legislation that I strongly supported, this actually wasn't comprehensive reform. We have had many opportunities in the past, including passing a bill through this Senate that would have created legal paths to citizenship while strengthening our border, and I hope we continue to have those opportunities. The provision that was voted down by our Republican colleagues would have strengthened the border security in a major way, giving the President emergency powers that he could have exercised at the border. It also would have done something about fentanyl.…”