Veronica Escobar: “If my colleagues were truly being honest with each other, they would admit the proposed Homeland Security appropriations…”

“If my colleagues were truly being honest with each other, they would admit the proposed Homeland Security appropriations bill is unworkable and truly will not solve the challenges that we face. For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. Mr. Chair, this bill pulls money from critical DHS functions and improvements, including investing in our ports of entry, the CBP One app, and even endangers public safety by defunding CBP's recently updated vehicle pursuit policy. In short, this bill is filled with unworkable, empty promises Republicans feed their base instead of putting forth real solutions. I have tremendous respect for my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, and I would implore him to work with us on a bipartisan solution that is truly workable. I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border. I live there today. I raised my two children there in that beautiful community. No one wants safety, security, and order more than those of us who live there and have invested our lives in those communities. We know that relying on borders, as my colleague, Representative Cuellar, has pointed out, is not the answer. They don't deter or manage, and they don't make migrants go away. All it does is feed cartels so that they can find other routes for migrants. We share a commitment to wanting to end that. We can find a solution and a bipartisan pathway.…”