Veronica Escobar: “I oppose this motion to recommit because, as written, this motion to recommit would mean that Congress would have…”

“I oppose this motion to recommit because, as written, this motion to recommit would mean that Congress would have absolutely no say over how this money would be used, and we know full well that, without restraint, this administration uses funding for cruelty and chaos. Madam Speaker, I invite my colleagues to focus on the issues at hand: children, sleeping on concrete floors; children, some as young as 8 years old, caring for infants; a toddler, 22 months old, soiled and without a diaper; an outbreak of lice and the flu. This is not a description of a developing nation. This is happening today, on our watch, in the United States of America, to children. It is happening in El Paso, Texas, on the border, our new Ellis Island. There is no doubt, Madam Speaker, that the increasing number of families have presented a challenge at our front door. There is no doubt that the most vulnerable among us, especially those children in U.S. custody, are suffering in misery. But there is also no doubt that draconian hard-line policies, focused on detention only, have turned this challenge into a crisis. We must do something, and we must do something now. And today, we can. Today, we can vote on a border supplemental that allows processing facilities to buy things like food, water, and blankets. It boosts funding for legal assistance for migrants. It funds the necessary work of stabilizing Central America in an effort to address the root cause of migration.…”