Thune on Democrats’ Refusal to Prioritize National Security

Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “Mr. President, last week, Senate Republicans passed legislation to fund Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the next three years. “On Tuesday, House Republicans passed the legislation. “And yesterday, the president signed the bill into law. “Mr. President, I’m proud that we got this done of course. “Republicans are deeply committed to ensuring a safe country and safe communities, and border security and immigration enforcement are key parts of that. “No country – no country – can be secure if bad actors can make their way freely across our borders, or if criminal illegal immigrants are able to operate freely within our neighborhoods. “So, as I said, I am proud that we got this done. “But, Mr. President, I also have to ask, how did we get here? “How did we get to the point where one party has completely abdicated any responsibility for our nation’s security? “And it’s not just this bill, Mr. President. “Democrats have been playing fast and loose with our national security all year. “Their two record-breaking shutdowns strained our nation’s critical national security agencies – particularly agencies at the Department of Homeland Security, which was shut down for a staggering 119 days all told this fiscal year. “The TSA, responsible for the security of our nation’s airports, has seen a flood of resignations thanks to Democrats’ decision to make these critical workers go without pay for quite literally months. “And then there’s border security and immigration enforcement. “Democrats absolutely refused to provide so much as a dollar – a dollar – to fund the agents who provide security at our nation’s borders and remove criminal illegal immigrants from America’s streets. “I can’t make that point enough, Mr. President. “If Democrats had their way, there would be zero – zero – physical presence at our nation’s borders and zero agents to remove criminal illegal immigrants who do make their way into our country. “It is a breathtaking – breathtaking – level of irresponsibility. “Still not done, Mr. President. “Because I haven’t yet talked about FISA. “Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is our nation’s most critical intelligence-gathering tool. “Policymakers across the federal government – from both parties – rely on Section 702 information on a near-daily basis. “And we were well on our way to reauthorizing it, with Democrat and Republican lawmakers here in the Senate working on an agreement. “And then – as has happened more than once this year – Democrats backed out. “And now this critical tool is set to go dark on Friday. “And what the consequences of that will be, we cannot predict. “Mr. President, it’s striking how weak Democrats’ ostensible “reasons” have been for all of these actions. “They’re blocking a critical national security tool because they don’t like the president’s temporary, short-term pick for acting – acting – DNI. “They shut down the federal government twice – and refused to fund border security and immigration enforcement – because they couldn’t take yes for an answer. “Ultimately, Democrats have made it clear this year that for them, it’s always politics over policy. “And if our economy suffers, if our national security suffers, because of Democrats’ decision to shut down the government or refusal to fund border security – well, Democrats are apparently just fine with that. “Mr. President, polls tend to show that Americans trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to crime and national security. “And I think Democrats are making it very clear why that is. “The fact that Republicans had to act alone to fund security at our nation’s borders is all the evidence you need to know to show that Democrats are fundamentally unserious about their national security responsibilities. “Republicans, of course, will continue to do everything we can to keep our country and our communities secure. “It’s too bad the same cannot be said of Senate Democrats.”