On the recordSeptember 10, 2019
I rise to object in the strongest possible terms to President Trump's continued raid on the budget of the U.S. military. As a candidate, the President promised the American public that he would build a border wall with Mexico and that Mexico would pay for any wall that he would build. The President has broken his promise. It shocks me that, as Commander in Chief, he now insists that it has to be our troops, our military families, and our Nation's security that has to be sacrificed for his foolishness. Frankly, it shocks me even more that Republican colleagues in this body seem perfectly willing to let him do that. If you will not stand up for the men and women in our military, whom will you stand up for? If you will not stand up for important projects in your own State, whom will you stand up for? If you will not stand up to protect your Defense authorization bill or your Defense appropriations bill when they are being cannibalized, when will you stand up? We will have a vote soon to block the President's destructive efforts to weaken our military and to trample on the power of Congress to set the Nation's budget and appropriations levels. I am hoping that my colleagues, Democratic and Republican, will stand up. Let me first address the need for a secure border. I have called the President's insistence on using military monies to build the wall foolishness. What do I mean by this? I don't challenge the need for border security.…
