| For Immediate Release
December 5, 2023 Contact: Taylor Haulsee |
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday morning, Speaker Johnson sent a letter again calling on the Biden Administration to support transformative change to our nation’s border security laws as part of any national security supplemental legislation.
Speaker Johnson’s letter came in response to the letter from the White House Office of Management and Budget delivered Monday morning which requested further taxpayer aid to Ukraine but was silent on fixing America’s own ongoing border security crisis, and ignored Speaker Johnson’s repeated requests for the Administration to lay out their strategy for prevailing in Ukraine with clearly defined and obtainable objectives, and transparency and accountability for U.S. tax dollars.
Key excerpt from the letter:
With respect to the Administration’s request for additional Ukraine funding, the position of Congressional Republicans has been clearly articulated since October 26, 2023. On that date, I met in the Situation Room with you, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other key leaders to present two essential prerequisites: security at our border, and critical answers regarding the funds requested.
First, I explained that supplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws. The House of Representatives has led in defining reforms to secure America’s borders and passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, more than six months ago. Senate Democrats have refused to act on that bill.
Second, I explained that Congress and the American people must be provided with answers to our repeated questions concerning: the Administration’s strategy to prevail in Ukraine; clearly defined and obtainable objectives; transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars invested there; and what specific resources are required to achieve victory and a sustainable peace.
Full text of the letter:
Dear Director Young:
I am in receipt of your letter dated December 4, 2023, in which you reiterated the Administration’s request for additional supplemental appropriations.
To the extent that the Administration’s latest request seeks aid for our ally Israel, I am pleased to remind the White House that the House of Representatives has already addressed that need responsibly with H.R. 6126, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. We passed that bill with a bipartisan vote more than a month ago, on November 2, 2023. H.R. 6126 includes the vital security assistance requested for Israel and is fully offset. Senate Democrats, however, have refused to consider the measure. In fact, when given the chance to debate H.R. 6126, all 51 Senate Democrats voted to block consideration of the bill.
With respect to the Administration’s request for additional Ukraine funding, the position of Congressional Republicans has been clearly articulated since October 26, 2023. On that date, I met in the Situation Room with you, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other key leaders to present two essential prerequisites: security at our border, and critical answers regarding the funds requested.
First, I explained that supplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws. The House of Representatives has led in defining reforms to secure America’s borders and passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, more than six months ago. Senate Democrats have refused to act on that bill.
Second, I explained that Congress and the American people must be provided with answers to our repeated questions concerning: the Administration’s strategy to prevail in Ukraine; clearly defined and obtainable objectives; transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars invested there; and what specific resources are required to achieve victory and a sustainable peace.
I reiterate that President Biden must satisfy Congressional oversight inquiries about the Administration’s failure thus far to present clearly defined objectives, and its failure to provide essential weapons on a timely basis. American taxpayers deserve a full accounting of how prior U.S. military and humanitarian aid has been spent, and an explanation of the president’s strategy to ensure an accelerated path to victory. In light of the current state of the U.S. economy and the massive amount of our national debt, it is our duty in Congress to demand answers to these reasonable questions, and we still await the answers.
With regard to the U.S. border, the need to regain operational control has never been more urgent and the American people deserve immediate action. In your previous letter requesting supplemental appropriations, dated August 10, 2023, you acknowledged our country has a “fundamentally broken [immigration] system,” and you described the existence of child exploitation, an “influx of illicit drugs” pouring across our borders, and the destructive impact of all this on public health. However, your letter also strangely suggested the “Administration’s plan is working as intended.”
What is happening at the border is nothing short of a catastrophe and I bring the following to your attention:
- Record Illegal Immigration. Under the Biden Administration, as of November 14, 2023, there have been more than “6.5 million illegal alien encounters along the southwest border by Customs and Border Protection”. This does not include “at least 1.7 million known ‘gotaways’” or the “untold numbers of unknown ‘gotaways.’” Moreover, since fiscal year 2021, U.S. Border Patrol has reportedly encountered 294 aliens on the terrorist watchlist. The Administration’s policies have led to nothing short of a “brutal invasion” of our own country which now threatens our nation’s sovereignty.
- Straining Community Resources. On an almost daily basis now, news reports document how vulnerable American citizens are being forced to take a back seat to illegal aliens. For example, New York City has converted public school facilities into shelters to house illegal aliens, potentially subjecting residents to danger from unvetted persons. Elderly Americans, including at least one veteran, have been evicted from their nursing homes to house “migrants.” Last month, “poor American citizens [were] forced to compete with illegal aliens for Thanksgiving meals,” and the Administration began housing migrants on our nation’s public lands. The American people, including veterans, children, the elderly, and the poor, are increasingly being denied basic services as a result of this Administration’s policies and failure to secure our borders.
- Influx of Illicit Drugs, Risks to Public Health. From 2019 to 2022, the number of fentanyl deaths in the U.S. has more than doubled, rising from 36,359 in 2019, to 73,654 in 2022. Gaining operational control of the border is critical not only to screen and deter illegal immigration, but also to combat illicit drugs. The policies of the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have defied federal law and opened the border, and consequently ceded operational control to the Mexican cartels, empowering them and enriching drug smugglers and human traffickers at the expense of, and at risk to, public health.
- Dangers of Exploitation. Encouraged by the open border, vulnerable migrants from many countries around the world have made a treacherous journey to cross into our country illegally, and countless women and children have been physically abused and sexually assaulted along the way. Horrific reports have documented the use of so-called “rape tents” at the Mexican border, and many federal officials and experts have shared harrowing stories of human suffering in their testimony to Congress. The Administration has encouraged, rather than discouraged, the flow of illegal immigration and is thus perpetuating these horrors every single day.
The open U.S. border is an unconscionable and unsustainable catastrophe, and we have a moral responsibility to insist this madness stops immediately. Rather than engaging with Congressional Republicans to discuss logical reforms, the Biden Administration has ignored reality, choosing instead to engage in political posturing. We stand ready and willing to work with the Administration on a robust border security package that protects the interests of the American people. It is well past time for the Administration to meaningfully engage with us.
Sincerely,
Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House
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