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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, I spoke on the floor yesterday about the landmark bill Republicans passed last year: the Working Families Tax Cuts bill.
“And I talked about how this bill fits into Republicans’ efforts to turn things around in our country.
“Turn things around by putting more money in Americans’ pockets.
“Helping small businesses grow.
“Strengthening the agriculture sector.
“And giving a lifeline to rural health care.
“Mr. President, any one of those things alone would have been a significant achievement, but the Working Families Tax Cuts addressed all of them – all of them and more.
“Much more.
“And this morning, I want to talk about how this bill helps to make America more secure.
“That too, Mr. President, is unfortunately a turnaround story.
“And I say unfortunately, because the previous administration allowed our nation’s security to fall into a sorry state.
“Images of the chaos at the southern border during the Biden administration come to mind.
“So does the state of our military readiness.
“Mr. President, in recent years, our military readiness has not been where it needs to be to deter and counter threats.
“We’ve had ships in need of maintenance.
“Planes that can’t fly.
“Meanwhile, China was investing in key military technologies.
“Yet the Biden administration showed little interest in making the type of investment needed to get our military back to where it needed to be.
“And so when Republicans took control last year, we didn’t waste any time.
“As part of the Working Families Tax Cuts, Republicans made a generational investment in America’s military.
“It was a major investment to help get our readiness to where it needs to be – quickly.
“It invested in shipbuilding, missile defense, defense manufacturing capacity, critical munitions, drones and counter-drone technology, an expanded Air Force fighter fleet, nuclear modernization, U.S. infrastructure in the Pacific, and more.
“And alongside robust funding in the annual defense bill, these investments will help restore America’s military strength and make our adversaries think twice before crossing us.
“Mr. President, as I mentioned, we also needed to address border security.
“When President Trump took office, he wasted no time implementing policies that restored order at America’s southern border and put criminal illegal immigrants living in our country on notice.
“And we saw the results.
“Illegal crossings dropped precipitously.
“Border agents weren’t being stretched so thin anymore, and could spend more time stopping cartels and other criminals.
“That’s how things should be at the border, Mr. President.
“And Republicans are making sure that it stays that way.
“As part of the Working Families Tax Cuts, we made a generational investment in border security.
“We provided the resources necessary to finish the border wall and deploy additional barriers and technology to secure the border.
“There was funding to support the hiring of new agents.
“And to bring on more immigration judges to address the massive backlog in immigration cases.
“And those resources are making a difference.
“Thanks to President Trump and the Working Families Tax Cuts, as of the end of last month apprehensions at the southern border are more than 90 percent lower than they were under the Biden administration.
“Border Patrol is seeing a few hundred border crossings on a typical day – compared with as many as 10,000 in a single day at times under President Biden.
“And not a single illegal immigrant has been released from the border in more than a year.
“Mr. President, the American people support border security.
“And keeping America safe should be something that cuts across party lines.
“Unfortunately, our Democrat colleagues have repeatedly demonstrated zero interest in border security, and they’ve consistently reaffirmed their belief in open borders.
“First there was their complicit silence as the Biden administration opened our borders to a flood of illegal immigrants.
“Then every Democrat opposed our border security measures in the Working Families Tax Cuts.
“And then this year – this year, Mr. President, Democrats took their radical open-border beliefs to a new level and tried to defund Border Patrol and ICE.
“That’s right.
“Democrats not only opposed giving these agencies adequate resources to do their jobs, they opposed giving them any resources.
“Fortunately, Democrats’ radical proposal did not carry the day.
“And Republicans were once again able to fund border security and immigration enforcement – unfortunately without Democrats’ assistance.
“Mr. President, the security of our country is one of our greatest responsibilities.
“Without it, nothing else matters.
“It’s a responsibility that Republicans are taking seriously.
“The Working Families Tax Cuts is a big step toward a more secure America.
“It invests in safer streets with funding for state and local law enforcement.
“Safer skies by supporting air traffic control modernization.
“A secure border.
“And a strong military.
“Mr. President, we all watch the news and can see that the world is a dangerous place.
“There will always be bad actors and other dangers threatening the safety and security of the American people.
“But Republicans are working to ensure there are individuals standing ready to protect us, and that they have everything they need to keep America safe.
“Mr. President, a stronger America is a safer America.
“And that’s what Republicans are delivering.”