Press Releases

Prepared remarks of Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), from today’s House Floor debate, in support of the President’s veto of H.J. Res. 46 (National Emergency Declaration Termination Resolution):

I rise in support of the President’s veto of H.J. Res. 46.

Keeping our Nation secure should be every President’s highest priority.  With President Trump, there is no question he has and will continue to carry out this priority, and I support his efforts to build a border wall to protect our country.

He very clearly laid out the case for a declaration of a national emergency.

There is a crisis at the border – a crisis that could have been addressed much sooner, or prevented. The open border policies of the last administration compounded this growing problem.

We are seeing the highest rates of illegal immigration since 2007 – in February, there was more than double the number of illegal migrants coming into the country as compared to last year.  Border Patrol has apprehended over 268,000 individuals since the beginning of this fiscal year – a 97% increase from the previous year. 

Schools, hospitals, and other services have become overcrowded, and American workers have been hurt by reduced job opportunities and lower wages. 

At the same time, human and drug traffickers have thrived.

In many of our communities, the notorious MS-13 gang has grown, and we’ve seen tragic cases of crimes committed by illegal aliens who have been deported multiple times.

In my home state of Missouri, one man who was previously deported, returned here illegally, and was charged in several other violent incidents.  He is now suspected of murdering five Americans.  That should never have happened, but these kinds of tragic – and preventable – events are happening across the country.  That is 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 must do more to slow the flow of illegal drugs into the country.

The men and women who put their lives on the line every 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 using the authority provided 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 the legal authority that Congress has provided him.

I urge my colleagues to stand with the President, stand with law-abiding Americans and law-abiding immigrants, and sustain this veto.