Senate committee meets to mark up reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement

[1:30] I'll call the meeting to order. The Budget Committee is meeting today to report the fiscal [1:34] year 2026 reconciliation bill. The business quorum is present. Sounds good to me. Our work [1:43] today is of ministerial nature to report the legislative recommendation from the Committee [1:48] on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the full Senate. I thank Senator Paul for doing [1:54] that. According to Section 310B of the Congressional Budget Act and past practice of this [2:00] committee, no amendments are in order today. Members who wish to amend the legislation [2:04] will have that opportunity on the Senate floor. Consistent with past practices of this committee, [2:09] I'll give a statement that I'll recognize ranking member Merkley for his remarks. We will then [2:15] vote to report the legislation. Members will have until 5 p.m. Friday, May 22nd to submit [2:22] their written remarks for inclusion in the committee report. Quick overview. This includes what will [2:31] be coming from the Judiciary Committee on the floor. I think we start this tomorrow night [2:36] for everybody, get hydrated, get a good night's sleep. And if I got anything to do with it, [2:41] we'll start earlier. So we, you know, give everybody a chance to have their say, but also maybe [2:47] get home. The bill will include $22.57 billion to hire pay and train CBP personnel who secure our [2:58] border and interdict dangerous narcotics. $30.725 billion to fully fund ISIS immigration enforcement [3:07] mission and keep violent criminal illegal aliens and potential terrorists out of America. $1.475 billion [3:15] for DOJ to combat fraud and fight crime. $7.5 billion to hire, train, pay, and equip Homeland Security [3:22] investigations. Personnel, investigating personnel to carry out domestic law enforcement investigation, [3:29] which includes investigations into drug trafficking and crimes against children online. $3.5 billion [3:35] for improvements to border security, including air and marine operations and efforts to combat drug [3:41] trafficking. $1 billion for the U.S. Secret Service enhancements in response to the heightened threat [3:47] environment in which we live in the repeated attempts on President Trump's life. This includes security [3:53] elements of no braids in around the White House, and there'll be more, but I think this is the [4:02] right time for us to do that, to do this, given the threats we face. I'm an appropriator. I very much [4:09] like regular order, but unfortunately, when it comes to ICE and the Border Patrol, we were not able to achieve [4:15] a outcome in the appropriations process, so reconciliation's available to us, and I think it's imperative [4:22] that we make these investments to continue the tremendous success of President Trump and his team [4:29] in securing the border. This $72 billion package will give ICE and the Border Patrol what they need [4:35] to continue to make us all safe, and with that, I'll turn it over to Senator Merkley. [4:43] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and as you noted, it's, we have a kind of a pro forma role here, [4:50] and that we'd normally be stitching. What does that actually mean? Well, that's, yeah, I mean, I guess it means [4:56] we're not going to be allowed to have amendments. Okay, good. Under the rules. I like that. Might be a lot [5:01] more interesting if we, if we could. I've always liked that word. Our normal role here would be to stitch [5:07] together under the budget process the, the different pieces coming from different committees, and then that [5:12] would be forwarded to the floor, but we only have a product from one committee, so we're just essentially [5:17] voting on whether to pass that to the floor, and as much affection as I have for my colleague from [5:22] South Carolina, we have a different view. Democrats have a different view of this, of this bill, [5:29] starting with just understanding that this moment, Americans are so pressed the wall. Two weekends [5:37] ago, I held nine town halls across eastern Oregon, and it probably doesn't surprise you to hear that [5:44] folks are unhappy. They're unhappy that in our state, gas is over five bucks an hour, and they're [5:52] unhappy because diesel for the tractors on the farms is over six bucks a gallon, and simultaneously the [6:02] grocery prices are up, and rent is up, and inflation is at its highest year-over-year point in three years [6:11] at three point eight percent, and health care is more expensive, and that the tax credits that helped [6:17] them buy health care have been slashed in the, what the president called his big beautiful bill, but many [6:24] of us felt was a big ugly betrayal of the American family. And why? Why did that bill do? Funded more tax [6:31] breaks for billionaires at the expense of Americans' families. It was a families lose, billionaires win [6:36] proposition. President Trump summed it up last week. Maybe truer words have never been spoken. [6:46] He said, I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. [6:55] To get by, families are having to turn to credit cards, and Kevin Hassett, May 6th, the director of [7:06] the White House Economic Council, said that Americans, quote, credit card spending is through the roof. [7:12] They're spending more on gasoline, but they're spending more on everything else, too. Well, that's [7:18] ordinary families spending more on credit cards because just can't afford the [7:23] basics. And, of course, a big factor driving up the cost of everything is the war in Iran and its [7:31] effect on energy. That directly affects the gas at the pump and the diesel. It certainly affects the [7:39] price of fertilizer for our farmers and energy is in everything, so it drives the cost of everything [7:44] else. So let's just summarize it by saying that it's now clear that Operation Epic Fury has turned into [7:51] Operation Epic Failure. The president promised to end wars, lower prices, but he's starting wars and he's [8:01] raising prices. You know, it's putting business out of business. Spirit Airlines had 17,000 workers that [8:13] they don't have now because they're out of business and they're laid them off because of surging jet fuel [8:18] costs. And with the cost of everything rising, people have less money to pay their rent or pay their mortgage, [8:26] and home foreclosures. This hasn't gotten much attention, but home foreclosures are their highest [8:32] rate in six years. So with all this going on, this special reconciliation bill could be focused on [8:41] helping families. But what's actually in the bill? Well, Trump's gold-plated billion-dollar [8:48] ballroom boondoggle is in the bill. A massive Louis XIV structure that makes the White House look like this [8:56] little tiny auxiliary dwelling unit. Well, that symbolically, you know, tearing down the East Wing, the [9:05] People's House, and putting up a structure fit for Louis XIV, that might be a symbol of an authoritarian [9:13] government in a strongman state, but certainly is the wrong type of architectural undertaking for a Democratic [9:23] Republic government dedicated to people, government by and for the people. And the rest of this bill? Well, [9:32] no, there's not a thing in it for the groceries or the gas or the health care or the housing costs or any [9:40] of the things that families are struggling with. But there's something else that the chair mentioned [9:47] that I think is worth emphasizing. We're going down the route of saying the appropriations process might be [9:54] hard, so we'll just bypass it in reconciliation. This is planting seeds that are going to dramatically [10:02] change the Senate and dramatically change the cooperation between the parties on spending bills. [10:07] And regardless of the content of this particular bill, I think that is another step away from a [10:16] process where people work hard to find compromise across the aisle. You know, this process was created [10:24] in 1974, and there was no division about it. Every single senator present for the vote voted for the bill. [10:32] A simple majority process. Now, you might wonder, Robert Byrd, who was the defender of the supermajority, [10:40] Robert Byrd voted for this? Yes. Why? One purpose. The bill had to reduce the deficit. Every senator on both sides of the [10:54] aisle said, that's worthy of creating this special pathway. But 22 years later, 1996, the Republican [11:05] majority wanted to do a tax bill. And they brought in a new parliamentarian. His name was Robert Dove. [11:12] And they asked him to rule the opposite of what everyone had agreed that this bill, this special process was for, [11:19] this reconciliation. And this, you can increase the deficit. And that opened the door to doing tax legislation [11:26] through reconciliation that vastly increased the deficits and the debt. And that's happened four times now. [11:34] Four massive tax bills creating massive additional debt. The bill passed last year. How much did that add to the debt? [11:42] Well, an estimated 30 trillion over the next 30 years or 50 trillion over the next 30 years if the interest rates are [11:49] 1% higher than CBO's general estimate of 4%. So now reconciliation is not just being used to increase the deficit [12:01] through tax bills. It's being used to increase the deficit through regular appropriation style spending. [12:08] So here we are with this bill that has in it the gold-plated billion-dollar ballroom boondoggle, but also, also, [12:19] this massive amount of additional funds for ICE and CBP. But here's the thing. Is there something pressing that requires that? [12:30] They are sitting on $103 billion of unobligated funds. That's equal to four years of their normal spending. [12:38] It's unobligated because they couldn't possibly begin to spend all that money that was passed last year in the big, beautiful bill. [12:49] So there's no necessity for bypassing appropriations at this moment and setting this precedent that is so going to damage the process. [12:57] And I understand that the parties go back and forth on who's in the chairmanship, but once you change the use of the process, [13:08] the tools, both parties are going to take use of it. And that's where I'm really concerned about the impact of doing this now on the future of this body. [13:18] So I'd love to see a bill before us right now on something that is urgent, something that's not advanced funded for another four years, [13:27] and already advanced funded like this is something like addressing the challenges of families. [13:34] But that's not this bill. And that's why we will oppose it. [13:37] Thank you. We'll recognize some other people, but very quickly. [13:43] Number one, we believe this is urgent on our side. [13:47] We had like 11 to 15 million people come across our border in a four year period. [13:53] That's just pretty much been a disaster for our country. [13:58] The open borders policy that my Democratic colleagues supported in earnest obliterated every control we had on our border, [14:07] waved everybody through that could take one step in America, flying them all over America, has taken a toll on our country. [14:15] And one of the reasons we're in charge is because we promised to try to clean up the mess that was created. [14:21] And the money in this bill is to try to fulfill that promise. [14:26] ICE can be reformed, absolutely. We tried to reform it, but we just couldn't get there for whatever reason. [14:32] But they have an important job. It has to hunt down people that are here illegally, that presented danger to us, [14:39] and also to just control illegal immigration. [14:42] If you want future waves of illegal immigrants to lessen or stop, they have to see people leaving. [14:50] If nobody ever leaves, then you'll entice people to keep coming forever. [14:55] On the Border Patrol side, now is not the time to weaken our border security. [15:02] Because we are in a conflict, not with just Iran, but I think we're radical Islam writ large. [15:08] And those of you on the Intel Committee probably know better than I, but I've never seen a time with so many threats potential to our country. [15:17] So I think we believe that we want to go ahead and fund the Border Patrol and ICE through the president's term [15:23] to fulfill the promises we made to the American people, which is to create order out of chaos. [15:30] And that's when we have this bill. And we just have a different view of necessity, priorities, and that's why you have elections. [15:40] So with that, anyone else would like to speak? [15:43] Mr. Chairman? [15:45] Yeah. [15:46] Since you did characterize our view, let me point out that it was- [15:51] That was my view of your view. [15:53] Your view of my view. [15:55] Which is inaccurate. [15:57] It was 2013 that the Democrats led the effort to do a comprehensive immigration bill that had massive controls at the border. [16:04] It was bipartisan. We passed it in the Senate. It went to the House, where the Republican House wouldn't hold a single hearing on it. [16:10] We worked incredibly hard in 2024 to reach a bipartisan deal for security at the border again. [16:16] And once again, in this case, it was presidential politics that got in the way. [16:22] So we have been fully in support of law and order, the rule of law at the border. [16:29] And I hope when the dust clears from the current politics, we can again do a bipartisan bill to take on many issues that are involved in immigration. [16:41] Well, just finally, if you think that Biden years were four good years for border control, we have a different view. [16:51] Mr. Chairman? [16:52] Yes. [16:53] Inquiry. [16:54] Absolutely. [16:55] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [16:57] So as you noted, or the ranking member noted, we only have the HICSATH committee portion here. [17:03] I understand that you can proceed with this. Is it still your intention to seek to add the ballroom piece when we get to the Senate floor? [17:13] We'll see how that plays out. [17:15] From my point of view, the Hilton episode should wake us all up a little bit. [17:24] If a Democrat president had proposed trying to find a place on campus at the White House more secure, I would have said, yeah, it makes sense to me. [17:33] What if there had been five guys rushing the Hilton Hotel? [17:37] I don't think this is a vanity project at all. [17:41] I think the times in which we live, Senator Van Hollen, call for us to make adjustments. [17:45] And the president, whoever he or she may be in the future, this really doesn't go into effect, I think, to 28, would be well served to have a place they could meet the public more secure. [17:56] And the Secret Service needs some upgrades. [17:59] So this is the package that we're proposing. [18:02] Where it goes, I really don't know. [18:03] We'll have an amendment process. [18:05] And I want to tell my Democrat colleagues a compliment, really. [18:08] If we've had two or three reconciliations, it seems like 100. [18:12] But y'all fall for your causes. [18:15] And on the floor, you'll have a chance to offer amendments and fight for your causes. [18:19] And that's the way it should be. [18:21] And we'll see how it shakes out. [18:23] I appreciate that. [18:24] Just very briefly in response. [18:26] Look, I think as you know, using that event as an example is misplaced. [18:32] The press would never have their event at a White House ballroom, given the importance of the separation of the press. [18:40] And I don't think we need a ballroom. [18:43] I know that the President came back from his trip to China with even renewed ballroom envy. [18:48] But I don't think it's a good use of taxpayer dollars. [18:50] The other thing, Mr. Chairman, I would say, because it's in the Judiciary Commission portion, [18:55] is that we just learned yesterday of this $1.8 billion slush fund that could be used, according to the Acting Attorney General, [19:04] to payouts to people who assaulted Capitol Police officers and committed violent crimes. [19:10] So just to signal my intention, as you say, we can offer amendments on the floor. [19:14] I will be offering one along those lines. [19:16] You may have some support. [19:17] You might. [19:18] You never know. [19:19] I hope so. [19:20] I never know until y'all. [19:21] I'm signaling because I think maybe you would agree that we shouldn't be giving payouts to people like that. [19:25] Well, here's what I agree, that you should have every amendment within reason on the floor, germane or not. [19:33] And that's what will happen. [19:35] And so I'm not trying to short circuit anybody. [19:38] This is the way you do it, apparently. [19:40] You know, we've done it in the past is to get the thing going. [19:43] And tomorrow evening or hopefully, as Senator Murray said earlier in the day, we'll have a spirited debate about all this stuff. [19:51] About tonight? [19:52] Well, I don't think so. [19:54] Chairman? [19:55] Yes. [19:56] Senator Whitehouse. [19:57] One additional word on yesterday's events, in addition to what I call the $1.7 billion cop-beater slush fund that has virtually no accountability, [20:11] delivered the week after police week in Washington, ironically. [20:16] We also discovered that there is a Trump family tax amnesty deal. [20:23] That hard to figure out how that was negotiated and how you get to a proper case or controversy for a settlement there. [20:31] It looks like the only signature on the document was Todd Blanche. [20:36] Not clear who he was representing at the time. [20:39] I've never seen a settlement between two parties in which only one lawyer signs. [20:45] And nobody knows how that was negotiated, whether there was the slightest independent eyeball on that scam. [20:54] And what was behind the tax investigation that needed to be put to an end. [21:01] We already don't believe that the president has ever paid any taxes. [21:05] We know perfectly well that he said he would release his taxes as soon as the tax audits are over. [21:13] It's not clear that they existed to begin with, but now clearly they are over. [21:18] So we'll be looking forward with interest to see his tax returns, as every other president has disclosed, [21:24] to see whether he and his family and his businesses pay any taxes at all. [21:29] But certainly a midnight deal hidden from the Appropriations Committee until after the hearing was over. [21:39] So Blanche didn't have to answer questions about it in which the same lawyer seems to be negotiating for both sides of the deal. [21:46] And giving the president and his family personal cover for whatever tax mischief they've been up to since the beginning of time, [21:55] as I read the document, is something that we need to pay more attention to. [21:59] So thank you for letting me add that to Senator Van Hollen's remarks. [22:03] Yeah, and what spurred the litigation is that somehow the president's tax return were released outside the law and he sued. [22:17] What would you do if somebody released your tax returns? [22:20] Well, the first thing I would do is I would have somebody independent determine whether or not there is actually harm done. [22:28] Yeah. [22:29] Because every president has always released their tax returns. [22:32] So to have tax information released would seem to be a zero harm act for a president. [22:37] Senator Cornyn is here. [22:38] I know you want to move forward, so I will yield. [22:40] Yes, yes. [22:41] Well, this is why tomorrow will be very interesting. [22:43] We'll have all these debates. [22:45] And if it's okay, Senator Merkley, I move that the committee report the reconciliation bill is there second. [22:53] And Mr. Chair, will there be an opportunity to make comments after the vote? [22:58] Absolutely. [22:59] We'll be here for like 20 or 30 more minutes. [23:02] All in favor, say aye. [23:04] Aye. [23:06] All opposed, no. [23:07] The ayes barely have it. [23:08] Yes, we can do a recorded vote. [23:11] Absolutely. [23:12] Roll call vote will be ordered. [23:18] Mr. Grassley. [23:19] Aye. [23:20] Mr. Crapo. [23:22] Mr. Johnson. [23:23] Mr. Marshall. [23:25] Mr. Cornyn. [23:26] Mr. Lee. [23:28] Mr. Kennedy. [23:29] Mr. Ricketts. [23:30] Mr. Moreno. [23:31] Mr. Scott. [23:33] Mr. Merkley. [23:35] Mrs. Murray. [23:37] No. [23:39] Mr. Wyden. [23:43] Mr. Sanders. [23:45] Mr. Whitehouse. [23:46] No. [23:49] Mr. Warner. [23:50] Mr. Cain. [23:52] No. [23:53] Mr. Van Hollen. [23:54] No. [23:56] Mr. Lujan. [23:57] Mr. Padilla. [23:59] Mr. Chairman. [24:00] Aye. [24:01] Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 11, the nays are 10. [24:02] The bill will be reported floor and approved, reported to the Senate. [24:06] I think, who wants to speak? [24:08] Okay. [24:10] Senator Cain. [24:11] I'm going to have to scoot here in a minute. [24:13] Senator Johnson, you're good to about 10.20. [24:15] Is that right? [24:16] Okay. [24:17] Senator Cain. [24:18] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [24:19] So, colleagues, I'll be quick. [24:20] This bill in its current form would be to add $70 billion to two agencies that were funded [24:27] to the tune of an extra $140 billion in last year's reconciliation bill. [24:32] I don't think they need this money on top of the $140 billion that we just gave them. [24:38] What better could we do with $70 billion to build homes or lower housing costs, to improve [24:44] childcare affordability, improve higher ed options, to reverse snap cuts, ameliorate Medicaid cuts? [24:51] That $70 billion would go a long way to helping everyday people, not supercharging an agency that has been dramatically overfunded. [25:00] The money that ICE gets is larger than the militaries of many nations, and it's by far the largest budget of any law enforcement agency in the United States. [25:09] And so, I will oppose the bill on the grounds that this is dollars that could be much better spent. [25:14] But the other thing, Mr. Chair, I want to point out, which my colleagues know, but I sometimes think for any public that's interested in this, [25:21] when they hear Republicans talk about, you know, Democrats wanting open borders, we just need to clarify the history. [25:30] Shortly after I got here, it was actually the first year I was here. [25:33] We worked on a bipartisan immigration reform bill that coupled a whole series of immigration reforms, [25:39] from path to citizenship to visa reforms, to massive investments in border security. [25:45] And many Democrats supported that bill, and it passed with an overwhelming bipartisan margin here in the Senate. [25:52] And then it went to a Republican House with Paul Ryan as the speaker that refused even to take the bill up. [25:57] What if we had made those investments in 2013? How different the world would look right now? [26:03] But those were investments in border security and immigration reforms that Democrats strongly supported. [26:09] Then, Mr. Chair, you and I worked together during President Trump's first term to offer a proposal to the White House [26:15] that the White House told us they would support, that paired relief for DREAMers with massive investments in border security. [26:23] And we introduced a bill with 16 senators, 8 Democrats, 8 Republicans, with the White House giving us a thumbs up and a green light. [26:31] And we could have invested those dollars at the border then, but within 24 hours after introducing the bill, [26:37] the White House did a 180. President Trump decided he didn't like the bill, despite his pledge that he would support it. [26:44] And so, yet again, a proposal that was bipartisan with Democrats weighing in for significant border funding, [26:50] the rug was pulled out from under it. If we had been able to accomplish that bipartisan deal in 2013, [26:57] or if we had been able to accomplish the bipartisan deal in 2018, the situation today would look so very, very different. [27:05] And some of the challenges that we've seen and the cases that grab attention, cases that ought to grab attention, [27:11] wouldn't have even happened. And so, lest anyone think that Democrats don't want to work to fund border security, [27:18] if I add up how much money I voted for for border security during the time I've been here since 2013, [27:24] and I can see my colleague, Senator Murray, who's been here a lot longer than me, nodding an amen nod on this, [27:30] it would show that, of course, we're for border security. [27:33] But the right way to do it is like we did in 2013 or even in 2018. [27:37] We can find a bipartisan path to do these things. Reconciliation is obviously an attractive item, [27:43] because it allows one side to just do, you know, whatever the heck it wants. [27:47] But this is an issue where there is some common cause if you just sit down and work hard enough to find it. [27:53] So I'll oppose the unilateral effort that would put more money into agencies that could be better spent elsewhere. [27:58] And with that, thank you, Mr. Chair. [28:00] Senator Murray. [28:01] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I, too, oppose this for the same reasons that you've heard from my colleagues. [28:10] And I want to add to what Senator Cain said. It is not that we oppose border security. [28:16] And in fact, we worked really hard in the negotiations originally to get some common sense reform into ICE and Border Patrol. [28:24] Things like having training longer than 48 days. [28:28] So our ICE officers learned how to deescalate rather than murder people on the street. [28:33] So that they had ID, so that somebody knew if they were talking to an ICE agent who it was. [28:40] That it could be identified for a lot of reasons. [28:43] And things like warrants so somebody wouldn't bust into your house. [28:46] These were common sense things we were asking for. [28:50] Who refused every single time? [28:53] Every common sense request we made was Stephen Miller. [28:57] And now what we have is a giant package that benefits only Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. [29:05] That's what this package is about. [29:08] It is appalling to me that the Republicans are pushing a package of 70-plus billion dollars for three years on funding ICE and Border Patrol [29:20] without any additional training or warrants or common sense things that we believe the American people are asking for today. [29:28] Any police officer should not be able to bust in your door and haul you out without a warrant. [29:34] That's America. [29:35] No one should be able to shoot people in the streets without letting us know who they are or why they're there without the training [29:42] that would prevent those kinds of things from happening. [29:45] So instead of responding to us and working with us to get some common sense reforms, [29:49] Republicans have now busted by every single protocol and are putting a bill on the floor that only requires Republicans to vote for it for 72 billion dollars. [29:59] And Stephen Miller is pretty happy today or will be by tomorrow night or Friday. [30:04] And who else is happy as Donald Trump? [30:06] And I want to share the comments that we have heard on the Golden Ballroom. [30:10] I go home and hear the same thing that Senator Merkley talked about. [30:14] Gas prices, health care costs, all of the energy prices that people are paying. [30:20] The tariffs that were passed are impacting everybody's pocketbook. [30:24] They want us to address those and what are Republicans putting on the floor? [30:28] A giant package that addresses none of that. [30:33] I think we make choices here about what we're going to fight for. [30:36] I think all of us come here and tell our constituents what we're fighting for. [30:40] What the Republicans are telling us today is they're going to fight for a giant ballroom for this president and not for the American people. [30:48] And we will oppose it. [30:49] Thank you, Mr. Chair. [30:51] Senator Padilla. [30:52] Thank you, Mr. Chair. [30:53] I want to associate myself with the comments from my colleagues on the Democratic side, [30:59] calling out the history of bipartisan efforts on immigration reform, including sensible border security. [31:09] But I want to remind us all, since this is the Budget Committee, that we often say, both sides of the aisle, that budget documents are reflections of our values and of our priorities. [31:22] And if that remains the case, then this is a pretty damning picture of just how out of touch our Republican colleagues are with working families across America. [31:32] As Senator Murray just reminded us, families are struggling. [31:36] Costs are rising. [31:38] Costs are spiking. [31:40] Costs are rising. [31:42] And they're struggling to make ends meet. [31:43] 3.8% inflation. [31:45] $5 a gallon gas at the pump. [31:49] The largest single-month spike in grocery costs. [31:53] The highest levels of ACA premiums. [31:57] Ever. [31:58] And so, had Republicans proposed to help working families? [32:04] They don't. [32:05] don't. But let's give ICE and CBP $72 billion more. So much for fiscal responsibility. This [32:18] is $72 billion on top of $103 billion they've been given previously that they're still sitting [32:26] on. They've been given so much money they can't spend it fast enough. And Republicans [32:31] want to give them more. Let's go back to what our constituents are saying, because I know [32:36] it's not just in Washington, not just in California, it's across the country. Americans aren't [32:42] waking up wondering, oh, gee, I wonder if ICE and CBP have enough money today. They're [32:48] trying to make ends meet. And let me be clear on another topic, because they know Republican [32:54] colleagues are going to try to, you know, twist the action of the next couple of days and accuse [33:00] Democrats of defunding the police again. That's not true. We've voted for DHS funding in the [33:07] past and are simply insisting that if we're going to give additional dollars to ICE and [33:14] CBP, that some things have to change. We need reforms. We need changes for how they're [33:22] going about their job. What people are seeing is chaos on the streets. Renee Good, Alex [33:34] Preddy, Ruben Ray Martinez, not undocumented immigrants, not legal permanent residents, United [33:43] States citizens killed by immigration agents. We've heard about the separation of children from [33:52] their parents again. We've heard about horrible conditions in detention centers ongoing. We've [34:01] heard not just from our constituents, but from 425 federal judges appointed by presidents from [34:07] both parties, including judges appointed by Donald Trump, who have ruled that ICE's actions are [34:15] illegal and unconstitutional and in many, many cases have undermined basic due process. The [34:25] administration has lost 10,000 times in court. That's a 90% loss rate, by the way. If any other [34:36] department or agency was failing to do their job 90% of the time, Congress would be demanding [34:43] oversight and accountability and consequences for those in charge. But no, because Donald [34:53] Trump doesn't want that, our Republican colleagues are happy to just go along with whatever he [34:59] wants. And let's throw in a ballroom while we're at it. A ballroom which, as I recall, he promised [35:08] to completely build with private donations. He bragged about at least, what, $400 million being [35:16] committed? Maybe even collected? Where's that money? And why all of a sudden the change of tune [35:21] of, despite the private money being out there, now he wants taxpayers to foot the bill? We could be [35:28] spending that money in a lot smarter ways to help families. How about restoring some of the snap cuts? [35:35] Not just good for families and children who are hungry, but how about the farmers who supply the food? [35:41] How about reinvesting in health care? How about reinvesting in child care? Or repairing some highways [35:48] and bridges? Investing in schools, the child tax credit, housing assistance. There's a lot better [35:54] use for the money that our Republican colleagues are seeking to spend here. And I guess to sum it all up, [36:03] let's not just speculate, let's hear what Donald Trump himself has said. Quote, he doesn't think [36:08] about Americans' financial situation. And boy, did this reconciliation package show it. Thank you, [36:16] Mr. Chair. Thank you. And just a real quick word of rebuttal. I didn't come prepared with the long [36:23] list of victims of illegal immigrant crime. Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, and a very long list. [36:31] I don't have the list of the literally tens of thousands, I think over hundreds of thousands of [36:36] children lost, immigrant children, shuffled through the system, probably into the hands of sex traffickers. [36:42] This administration is trying to do everything they can to find those children. So again, those are the [36:47] names that should be mentioned as well. But anyway, any other senator who wished to make comment? [36:57] If not, with no further business, I'll remind members that they have until 5 p.m. on Friday, [37:02] May 22nd, to submit written remarks for inclusion in the committee. Print to the committee clerk, [37:08] I ask unanimous consent that staff be permitted to make necessary technical and conforming changes to [37:13] the reported bill. Without objection, the meeting is adjourned.