Press Releases

Jul 23 2014

Border Security Calls for Serious Policy Changes, Not a Blank Check

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding the need to secure the border:

“There’s a lot we can get done in Washington when Democrats are willing to put the politics aside and work together for bipartisan results.

“We saw an example of that yesterday when the President signed a bipartisan workforce training bill into law – legislation I proudly supported.

“Unfortunately though, we rarely see such bipartisanship from Washington Democrats these days.

“Working toward bipartisan solutions and helping the Middle Class – it always just seems like such a chore for them.

“Just look at what President Obama and the Majority Leader have planned for the coming days.

“The President is off campaigning for a workforce training bill he already signed.

“It makes no sense, but this is a man who just can’t stop campaigning.

“And apparently, the Majority Leader’s suffering from a similar condition.

“He’s busy turning the Senate into a campaign studio. He wants to spend more of the Senate’s time on a designed-to-fail campaign bill that he loves to trot out before every national election these days — and then, for political purposes, prays will fail.

“Look: This is time that would be a lot better spent helping the Middle Class families that are struggling out there.

“Instead of worrying about designed-to-fail legislation, we could be addressing things like the highway bill – which already passed the Republican-led House with massive bipartisan support  or addressing the humanitarian crisis on the southern border.

“That’s where our focus should be. That’s what the American people expect.

“The Border Patrol estimates that as many as 90,000 unaccompanied children will have crossed the border by the fall.

“It’s a dangerous journey to the border, and many have suffered heartbreaking mistreatment and abuse.

“That’s why anyone who wants to help these children should be working overtime to spare them from this journey.

“A few weeks ago, the President made some modest policy recommendations that should be part of any legislation to deal with this crisis. Unfortunately, the far Left objected, and he’s since wobbled. That’s led to top Democrats in Congress balking at even the most modest of reforms. They now seem to prefer a blank check that would preserve the status quo instead. And the President will barely lift a finger to encourage his own party to support these simple reforms.

“Remember: this is the same President who keeps telling us about this mythical phone he plans to use.

“So what we’re saying is, use it.

“Call the members of your party who object to what you said you wanted—and what we all know is needed.

“Call the leadership of your party in the Senate who, despite the footage on the evening news, pronounce our Southern border to be secure. Get them to support the policies that you told us would help address this crisis.

“Frankly, it would be a much better use of your time than campaigning for a workforce training bill you already signed.

“Because sending these children all over the country for indeterminate periods of time isn’t an answer.

“We need to humanely return them home as soon as possible.

“And President Obama needs to show some leadership to help us get a long-term, credible plan in place to do just that.

“He owes the country at least that much.

“Remember: News reports suggest that the President could have intervened long ago to address this problem before it turned into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. But according to the Washington Post, it appears he prioritized politics over helping these children.

“The paper cited a congresswoman who admitted that her fellow Democrats recognized the urgency of this crisis, but they kept mostly silent because they didn’t want to cause problems for the Administration’s political priorities in Congress.

“And Democrats didn’t want others to be able to point out that the President’s policies had failed either.

“It’s shameful.

“The Post also cited one source who said that administration staff were concerned about the growing number of children, but that they too were effectively overruled by the White House’s political concerns. Here’s what the source said:

‘Was the White House told there were huge flows of Central Americans coming? Of course they were told. A lot of times…Was there a general lack of interest and a focus on the legislation? Yes, that’s where the focus was.’

“In short, it appears that the Obama Administration knew about this problem long ago, did almost nothing, and the country is now faced with this crisis.

“So the President needs to get serious about this. Now. What we’re saying is, cut out the campaigning – tell your party’s leadership in the Senate to get serious – and work with members of both parties to get this addressed.”