On the recordFebruary 26, 2019
Madam President, today, the House of Representatives will take up a motion to terminate the state of emergency proclaimed by President Trump. For many reasons, the measure should pass with bipartisan support. First, Members of both parties know there is no actual emergency at the border. Nearly 60 former national security advisers--Democrat and Republican, bipartisan--including former Secretaries of State and Defense, have written a statement saying there is ``no factual evidence of an emergency at the border.'' The President himself said, when announcing the state of emergency, that he ``didn't need to do this.'' An emergency, by definition, is something you need to do. It is an emergency. In the President's own words, this is not a state of emergency. If we let Presidents, whomever they be--Democrat or Republican-- willy-nilly, because they want to get something done, just declare an emergency when it is clear it has been a long-term condition, a long-term issue, this country is a different country. That leads to my second point. Members of both parties should be concerned about the President diverting money away from military construction projects in their districts. Again, the President doesn't like you for some reason. He says there is an emergency and takes money away from a project in your State that you have worked hard for. That is no way to govern.…





