Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Republicans Blocking Bipartisan Border Security Legislation

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the need for serious action on border security and Republicans’ filibuster of bipartisan border security legislation. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

It has been 97 days since Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans blocked the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill America has seen in a generation – and they still have zero plan to actually fix the problem.

President Biden, meanwhile, is taking action to secure our border. Last week, the President began announcing a series of administrative actions to go after bad actors in Central America and to use whatever powers he can from the executive branch.

Here in the Senate, we have not walked away from the table – we know we need to fix our border, the American people demand we fix the border, and we call on our Republican colleagues, once and for all, to join us in taking real, bipartisan action.

Democrats agree that the status quo on the border cannot continue. We want to pass border security in Congress, by working in a bipartisan way.

And so, three months ago, we brought to the floor a comprehensive security bill, a border security bill months in the making. A bill that didn’t just talk the talk about border security, but actually walked the walk – it updated asylum, had more money for border agents and judges, and was supported by conservatives like the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page Board.

Our border bill was not a messaging bill. It was the result of bipartisan negotiation – Senators Murphy and Sinema and Lankford – with input from a wide range of stakeholders on both sides. If both chambers would have had a chance to vote on our border security bill, it would have passed and become law.

Well, three months later, we’re not walking away from trying to resolve the problems at the border. We hope Republicans will change course and join us. Instead of just making a lot of speeches, pointing a lot of fingers, blame, blame, blame, let’s get something done. It is right within our grasp, a bipartisan bill that, when shown to many Republicans, they said wow. It wasn’t until Donald Trump said, I want the border to remain in chaos so I can win re-election, or win election, that Republicans backed off. Well, shame. That’s not what the American people want, and we are going to make sure they know it.

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