Political Quotes

“this $7.8 million State Department amendment that I offer tonight on behalf of myself, Mr. Ortiz, and Mr. Reyes empowers you, Mr. Chairman, and you, Mr. Wolf, as our important subcommittee chairman, and the conferees to address a serious threat to the lives and livelihood of tens of thousands of Texans who call home an area along the southernmost tip of our country that encompasses three congressional districts. Consistent with the rule under which this bill is being considered, these dollars would simply go to the State Department. But I believe in conference you would be able to clarify, consistent with tonight's debate, that it is designed to upgrade the Federal levees along the Rio Grande that are under the exclusive control of the International Boundary and Water Commission, an agency within the State Department. Exactly 1,018 days ago, the administration received what was really an alarming report from within its own State Department that our Federal levees along the Rio Grande are up to 9 feet deficient in height, geologically flawed, structurally unsound, and would overtop along some 38 river miles. We know that the time to make repairs is when the sun is shining, not when the flood is coming. The kind of wall that we need along our borders, along our southern border, is a wall to hold in a swollen Rio Grande river. A levee. What do the levees' weaknesses reported by the State Department mean if you live in the Rio Grande Valley?…”