{"id":23208,"date":"2024-05-22T18:35:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T22:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=23208"},"modified":"2024-05-22T18:53:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T22:53:42","slug":"watch-in-senate-floor-address-sen-ossoff-warns-of-grave-national-security-risk-if-bipartisan-border-security-bill-blocked","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/watch-in-senate-floor-address-sen-ossoff-warns-of-grave-national-security-risk-if-bipartisan-border-security-bill-blocked\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: In Senate Floor Address, Sen. Ossoff Warns of \u201cGrave National Security Risk\u201d if Bipartisan Border Security Bill Blocked"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is warning of a \u201cgrave national security risk\u201d if the bipartisan border security bill is blocked tomorrow in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This afternoon, Sen. Ossoff delivered an urgent Senate Floor Address to again sound the alarm on the counterterrorism threat associated with unlawful entry at the southern border, which he has warned is \u201creal and it is urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe threat of terrorism associated with unlawful entry at the southern border is real. It is pressing,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said.<\/strong> \u201cIf the Senate fails to pass border security legislation; refuses to tighten asylum standards; refuses to hire more Border Patrol officers; refuses to expedite the removal of those who abuse our asylum system to enter the country unlawfully, our nation faces a grave national security risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to watch Sen. Ossoff\u2019s Senate Floor remarks<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Please find a transcript Sen. Ossoff’s Senate Floor remarks below:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cFor years, too many Democrats have been in denial about the national security risks at our southern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I have been critical of fellow Democrats who have failed to acknowledge these risks, who have failed to recognize that knowing and controlling who enters our territory is fundamental to our sovereignty and our national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut now, Madam President, the situation has changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are more than enough Democratic Senators ready and willing to pass a strong bipartisan border security bill \u2014 a border security bill co-authored by a conservative Republican Senator, Senator Lankford of Oklahoma, who has done extraordinary work crafting this legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA bill that would surge enforcement resources to the southern border, that would tighten asylum standards, that would expedite the removal of those who abuse asylum to enter our country unlawfully, that would hire urgently needed border patrol officers and take the fight to drug cartels flooding our communities with fentanyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a bipartisan bill to help defend the nation against terrorists, who would exploit weakness at our southern border to enter our country and kill Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd now, it\u2019s Republican Senators who have already once blocked, and this week are threatening again to block bipartisan border security legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy, the American people ask, would Republicans in Congress block border security legislation amidst a national security crisis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe answer is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAsked recently on Fox News why Senate Republicans were blocking The Border Act<\/em>, Senator Lankford, the Republican co-author of the bill put it very simply, \u2018President Trump said don’t fix anything during the presidential election.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Trump said don\u2019t fix anything during the presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe former president would rather wield the border as an election issue than see Congress secure it, and Republicans in Congress appear to be falling in line, even though it leaves the country at grave risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMadam President, I urge my Republican colleagues to reconsider their position. Just as I have criticized Democrats, who for years buried their heads in the sand, about the threat at the southern border, just as I have criticized the Biden administration for its failures of the southern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a time for Republican Senators to stand up to President Trump and say, no, we will not obey your command to leave the country at risk. Instead, we will do what’s right for the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMadam President, the threat of terrorism associated with unlawful entry at the southern border is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is pressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If the Senate fails to pass border security legislation; refuses to tighten asylum standards, refuses to hire more Border Patrol officers; refuses to expedite the removal of those who abuse our asylum system to enter the country unlawfully, our nation faces a grave national security risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first vote we’ll take later this week on The Border Act<\/em> will not even be a vote on passage of the bill. It will be a vote on whether the Senate agrees to debate and consider amendments to the legislation. If Senate Republicans think this bill is imperfect, if they want to offer amendments, they will have that opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I urge my Republican colleagues, ignore the former president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Trump said don’t fix anything during the presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe’s not your boss. He’s not your constituent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have an obligation to national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe country’s at risk. Let us debate The Border Act<\/em>, and I yield the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is warning of a \u201cgrave national security risk\u201d if the bipartisan border security bill is blocked tomorrow in the Senate. This afternoon, Sen. Ossoff delivered an urgent Senate Floor Address to again sound the alarm on the counterterrorism threat associated with unlawful entry at the southern border, which he has […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23208","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/23208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/23208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23216,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/23208\/revisions\/23216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}