Political Quotes

“Mr. President, there was a time--and it really wasn't all that long ago--when securing the border had bipartisan support. It was actually a bipartisan goal--now, I think that made a lot of sense-- but it is not now. It also wasn't all that long ago that, in 2006, Congress passed something called the Secure Fence Act of 2006. What that piece of legislation did was to authorize 700 miles of what was supposed to be double-layered fencing. In the end, only 36 miles of actual double- layered fencing was constructed. Another 613 miles that consisted of about 299 miles of vehicle fencing--in other words, people could just walk right through it--and another 314 miles of single-layered pedestrian barrier fencing were actually built. I think we have seen that unfortunately the fencing did not fulfill the requirements of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, and it also didn't work. What is interesting to know about the passage of the Secure Fence Act is that it passed overwhelmingly in this Chamber by a vote of 80 to 19. There were 26 Democratic Senators who joined 54 Republicans in voting yes. It also passed the House by a pretty overwhelming margin as well-- 283 to 138--with 64 Democrats joining the Republicans. So the total count in Congress was 363 votes to build a fence and secure the border versus 157 people who, apparently, didn't have an interest. In other words, 70 percent of the Members of Congress who voted on the Secure Fence Act, who voted for border security, voted yes.…”