Sam Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize David Bartlett. David is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 606, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. David has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years David has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, David has received the Paul Bunyon Award, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. David has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. David built a wooden dumpster enclosure at his church to aid in aesthetics and security. Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending David Bartlett for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Garrett Winheim. Garrett is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 247, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Garrett has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Garrett has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Garrett is a member of the Order of the Arrow and has received the Boy Scout World Conservation Award. Garrett has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Garrett built mobile shelving units to be used as storage space and visual barriers at the Kansas City Pet Project. Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Garrett Winheim for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my colleagues, Representatives Peter A. DeFazio, Virginia Foxx, Juan Vargas, Van Taylor, Adam Kinzinger, John R. Moolenaar, Rodney Davis, and Ted S. Yoho, DVM, in honor of the life of April Blankenship, beloved and integral staff member to this Body. April faithfully served as a shared financial administrator to Committees and personal offices; Leadership, rank and file, and freshman; and both Republicans and Democrats for almost 20 years before her passing at age 49 on April 15, 2019. Her diligence, work ethic, and candor were an asset to every office that was fortunate enough to work with her, and were only matched by her kindness toward all those with whom she interacted. April was a faithful steward of taxpayer dollars, trusted advisor, detailed accountant, and wise counselor. As she wheeled her briefcase through the buildings every week, she brought warmth, humor, and a ready smile. Thanks to her sound advice and strong relationships, our offices have maintained compliance with the complex rules governing financial administration. To the institution, April was integral to the everyday operation and overall smooth functioning of the legislative body. To Members, April was both responsive and honest in her assessments, ensuring that their needs were met swiftly and reliably. To countless staff, April was the first and last point of contact on Capitol Hill--from instructing those just starting their careers to save appropriately and conduct themselves in a manner that would best represent those they serve to advising individuals leaving the Hill on retirement and compliance. She continued to function as a sounding board for staff as they progressed in their careers and served in other capacities. That she was asked to serve so many varying districts and Committees is a testament to her character--April was a public servant in the truest sense of the word. Recollections of her role in our offices would be incomplete without acknowledging her husband Tim and their three sons--Dakota, Hunter, and Tucker. The boys were frequent, welcome additions during her office visits. We send our deepest condolences to her family for their loss. It is with great sadness, but also with great gratitude that we honor the life of April Blankenship. It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to know her and an honor to serve alongside her.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, the President made it very clear that the wall is critical to address both national security and the humanitarian crisis. DOD issued a fact sheet of the universe of projects that have not been awarded, and they totaled more than what is needed. They total a little over $12 billion. Just because a project is listed doesn't mean that the funding will be used. They only need $3.6 billion. I might add, too, that if the fiscal year 2020 budget is enacted on time and as requested, there is going to be no military construction project that is going to be delayed or canceled. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Abraham).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I just need to point out that, according to Customs and Border Protection, there were more illegal drugs that were captured in between those ports of entry than there were at the ports of entry. In 2012, there were 11 million pounds of illegal drugs that were seized in between--again, in between--those ports of entry, as opposed to 4 million pounds at those ports of entry. This is exactly why the wall is needed, so that we funnel that illegal drug trafficking to those ports rather than in between those ports of entry. It is time that Congress gave those individuals that are on the border, risking their lives to protect the United States, the tools that they need, and that is a border wall. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), who is also the lead Republican on the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Despite the majority's blind objection to anything this President does, the facts are clearly there to show that this is a real crisis. President Obama agreed when he requested emergency funding in 2014 to deal with the crisis on the border and when he declared a national emergency because of the transnational drug traffickers. Since fiscal year 2012, Customs and Border Patrol has seized 4 million pounds, as I pointed out earlier, seized 4 million pounds of drugs at ports of entry but more than 11 million pounds of drugs between those ports of entry. Nearly three times as many drugs are seized in between those ports. Many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle recognize the need for a border wall. They voted to authorize a wall in 2006 and again they voted to authorize, under President Obama, in 2013. Last year, we passed bipartisan legislation to address the growing impacts of opioids on our communities, drugs that continue to flow into our country through our southern border. Make no mistake, the opioid crisis is real. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control issued a report noting that deaths from fentanyl have increased from 1,663 in 2011 to 18,335 deaths in 2016. This is an increase of over 1,100 percent. There was bipartisan agreement that there was a drug-related crisis, but now, suddenly, some are calling this a ``manufactured crisis.'' The National Emergencies Act has been on the books since 1976 and has been used dozens of times, but now, suddenly, some are calling it ``unconstitutional.'' The National Emergencies Act is clear; it is absolutely clear: The President has the authority to act. The President is using the authority Congress has given him, and the President stood firm, understanding the gravity of this crisis, and issued his first Presidential veto. I stand with him, and I urge my colleagues to sustain the President's veto on H.J. Res. 46. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford), who is also the lead Republican on the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the President's veto of H.J. Res. 46. Keeping our Nation secure should be this President's very highest priority, and it is this President's very highest priority. With President Trump, there is no question that he has, and he will continue to carry out, this priority. I support his efforts to build a wall on the southern border to protect our country. He has very clearly laid out the case for a declaration for a national emergency. There is a crisis at the border, a crisis that could have been addressed much sooner or even prevented, for that matter. The open border policies in the last administration compounded this growing problem. We are seeing the highest rates of illegal immigration since 2007. In February, there were more than double the number of illegal migrants coming into this country, as compared to last year. Border Patrol has apprehended over 268,000 individuals since the beginning of this fiscal year. That is a 97 percent increase from the previous year. Schools, hospitals, and other services have become overcrowded. The American workers have been hurt by reduced job opportunities and lower wages. At the same time, human and drug traffickers are thriving. In many of our communities, the notorious MS-13 gang has grown, and we have seen tragic cases of crime committed by illegal aliens who have been deported multiple times. In my own home State of Missouri, an individual who was previously deported returned here illegally and was charged in several violent incidents. He is now suspected of murdering five individuals--or five Americans. That should never have happened, but these kinds of tragic--and preventable--events are happening across the country. That is the very definition of a crisis. Last Congress, we enacted legislation to deal with the devastating opioid crisis because that is, in fact, also a crisis. We can and we must slow the flow of illegal drugs into this country. The men and women who put their lives on the line every single day to secure our borders deserve all the tools they need to do the job--including a border wall. Through President Trump's proclamation and his veto of H.J. Res. 46, he is acting decisively to finally address this crisis under the authority provided him by Congress. The National Emergencies Act is crystal clear. The provisions the President will use under title 10 explicitly provide the President with that authority. The President is well within his legal authority that Congress has provided him. That is the bottom line. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with the President and to stand with law-abiding Americans and law-abiding immigrants to sustain this veto. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Mitchell).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear: Congress explicitly authorized the President to undertake certain military construction projects that are not otherwise authorized by law when it passed the National Security Act. The President is working within the legal boundaries that the Congress gave him. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), who is on the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire the amount of time remaining.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining?

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I might remind my colleagues that Title 10, Section 2808, explicitly authorizes the President to change the appropriation for military construction. He is operating within the law. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), who is also the ranking Republican of the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing that most drugs coming into this country are coming in at ports of entry, and I would make a correction: Most drugs that are caught are caught at ports of entry. We don't have any idea what is coming in across the border. When we say that, this is like saying we are going to reinforce the front door, but we are going to leave the back door wide open. We don't know how many drugs or the amount of drugs that are coming across the border, particularly in rural areas, because we just simply can't patrol it. As the gentleman from Illinois pointed out, you can't deploy Border Patrol quick enough to catch much of this. So we don't know how many drugs are coming through in other areas. We have a pretty good idea at ports of entry because we catch them there. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the President clearly laid out the case for the declaration of a national emergency in his State of the Union Address right here. National security is obviously the President's highest priority, and I support his efforts to build a wall. There is a crisis. There is a crisis at the border that could have been addressed much sooner and prevented. Open border policies of the last administration compounded this growing problem. We have schools, hospitals, and other services that have become overcrowded. American workers have been hurt by reduced job opportunities and lower wages. At the same time, human and drug trafficking has thrived. In many communities, the notorious MS-13 gang has grown. We have seen tragic cases of crimes committed by illegal aliens who have been deported not once, not even twice, but multiple times. I want to cite just one example from my home State of Missouri. A man named Pablo Serrano-Vitorino was deported to Mexico after a felony conviction in 2003. He later returned to this country illegally and was arrested again in 2014 and 2015 after several more violent incidents, but he remained in the U.S. Then, in 2016, this individual, who had no right to be in this country, was charged for murdering five people in Kansas City, Kansas, and Montgomery County, Missouri. Stories like this are not unique to Missouri, Mr. Speaker. These horrifying events are happening across this country. This is a crisis. The men and women who put their lives on the line every day to bring order and security to our borders deserve the tools that they need to do the job, and now this President is taking decisive action to finally address the crisis using the authority provided to him by the Congress. The National Emergencies Act is very clear. The provisions the President will use under title 10 explicitly provide the President with clear authority. I support the President's efforts. I believe he is well within the law in making this declaration, and I urge my colleagues to oppose H.J. Res. 46. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of clarification because the statement was made that individuals from outside this country coming to ports of entry seeking asylum were entitled to that. No one outside of this country is entitled to anything in this country. They can be heard, but they are not entitled to asylum in the United States just because they ask for it, just because they seek it. They aren't entitled to anything within this country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.