Sheila Jackson Lee: “This bill that we came to have to fix as a Republican bill was a compromise, but it was a compromise with…”

“This bill that we came to have to fix as a Republican bill was a compromise, but it was a compromise with humanitarianism and passion and compassion. This border security and funding bill that Democrats fixed did some good things. In particular, it raised the number to 100,000 alternative detention sites for women and children; it provided healthcare where there was no healthcare so that little children would not die at the border; and it prevented ICE from using data to deport people who are trying to pick up their children. The good news is our Federal employees will not be held as hostages, and we have given them a 1.9 percent raise. As well, we provided for Food for Peace, for people who are struggling around the world, $1.7 billion. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, we provided $423 million for the Byrne Grant; $178 million to address sexual assault kits and other DNA; $100 million for STOP School Violence; $497 million, Madam Speaker, for the Violence Against Women Act; and $75 million for gun control, or at least the checks for background. Madam Speaker, this is a humanitarian bill, and I ask my colleagues to recognize it. ____________________”