{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=BD0F3077-DE25-4D1E-B5F9-EF2B4A38FB86", "Thune: Protecting Our Border is Protecting Our Nation", "2018-12-18", "2018", "2018-12", "Republican", "House", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\tU.S. Sen.John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the importance of border security and expressed his frustration with Senate and House Democrats for their opposition to funding a border wall, considering Sen. Schumer and former Sens. Biden, Clinton, and Obama all voted to authorize a border fence in 2006.\r\nThune's speech (as prepared for delivery):\r\nMr. President, before I begin, I'd like to say a couple of words about Senator Alexander.\r\nI was sad to hear that he will be leaving the Senate in two years.\r\nWhile I'm sure he will enjoy having more time to relax at home in his beloved Tennessee, his gain is our loss.\r\nOver the course of his 16-year career in the Senate, he has been a leader and a model for many of us, including me.\r\nAs a former secretary of education, he has, unsurprisingly, been a leader on education issues, and he has also been a tremendous leader on health care.\r\nHe combines an impressive knowledge of the issues with an ability to bring together members of both parties to get things done.\r\nHe and I share the unusual distinction of having both been congressional staffers before becoming members of Congress.\r\nWe've also both served as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.\r\nAnd Lamar was definitely a tough act to follow.\r\nI will miss his presence in the Senate, but I'm glad we still have two more years to work together to improve the lives of the American people.\r\nMr. President, I also need to mention Senator Kyl, who just announced that he's retiring from the Senate  for the second time.\r\nSenator Kyl initially retired at the end of the 112th Congress after a distinguished Senate career, but he stepped up to fill in after we lost Senator McCain earlier this year.\r\nHe's rightly renowned in this body for his statesmanship and his deep knowledge, and it's been a pleasure having him back in the Senate, even for a brief time.\r\nMr. President, the 115th Congress is drawing to a close, and it's time to finish up our work.\r\nMost importantly, of course, we need to fund the government.\r\nWhile this year's Senate was the most efficient in two decades in terms of passing appropriations bills, we still have a significant amount of funding left to pass this week.\r\nAnd a critical part of this funding is border security.\r\nAs all of us know, protecting our border is protecting our nation.\r\nWhen we can't control the flow of goods and people across our borders, dangerous individuals and products enter our nation without our knowledge.\r\nThe fact is, our borders are not sufficiently secure, and as we've recently seen with the migrant caravans, they're a target for illegal entry.\r\nOver the past year, illegal border crossing apprehensions have shot up by more than 30 percent.\r\nA porous border leaves us susceptible to illegal entry by gang members, human traffickers, drug dealers, and weapons traffickers.\r\nFederal agents have seen a substantial increase in seizures of deadly drugs, including a 115 percent increase in the amount of fentanyl seized between ports of entry.\r\nFentanyl is one of the most dangerous opioids out there and a major contributor to the opioid crisis raging in this country.\r\nIn 2017, opioids were involved in the deaths of almost 50,000 Americans.\r\nRoughly half or more of those deaths involved fentanyl.\r\nIf this is what's being caught at legal points of entry, we know more is coming over the unsecured border.\r\nThen there's human trafficking.\r\nEvery year, between 14,500 and 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the United States  predominantly women and children.\r\nThen they are sold into domestic slavery, or, most frequently, forced into pornography or prostitution.\r\nAnd of course, there's the ever-present and very real danger that members of terrorist groups will exploit loopholes in our border security to enter our country and endanger our citizens.\r\nMr. President, I don't need to explain this to Democrat members.\r\nThey know all of this.\r\nAnd they've supported measures to protect our borders.\r\nIn 2006, the Democrat leader and the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted for legislation to authorize a border fence.\r\nThey were joined in their vote by then Senators Biden, Clinton, and Obama.\r\nIn 2013, every Senate Democrat supported legislation requiring the completion of a 700-mile fence along our southern border.\r\nThis legislation would have provided $46 billion for border security and $8 billion specifically for the wall.\r\nNothing has changed, Mr. President.\r\nBorder security is still a national security imperative, and it still needs to be funded.\r\nSo I hope Democrats' support for border security won't change either.\r\nIn 2013, Nancy Pelosi said that a shutdown was, quote, an unthinkable tactic to use in the political debate.\r\nI have to agree that it's unthinkable that Democrats would jeopardize government operations and services to block funding to secure our border.\r\nThe American people are certainly not interested in a government shutdown.\r\nThey made that clear back in January when Democrats shut down the government over illegal immigration.\r\nAnd I know Democrats and Republicans in Congress are not interested in shutting down the government for Christmas.\r\nSo I hope an appropriations bill will pass this week.\r\nIt's time to get the government funded.\r\nMr. President, while I'm on the issue of national security, I'd like to take a few minutes to discuss the recent report from the National Defense Strategy Commission.\r\nThe report is sobering, and it should give our work to restore military readiness a new level of intensity.\r\nI'd like to just highlight a few excerpts:\r\nThe security and wellbeing of the United States are at greater risk than at any time in decades.'\r\nThe U.S. military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict '\r\nIt might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia '\r\nThe United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously '\r\nAdditionally, it would be unwise and irresponsible not to expect adversaries to attempt debilitating kinetic, cyber, or other types of attacks against Americans at home while they seek to defeat our military abroad ...'\r\nU.S. military superiority is no longer assured and the implications for American interests and American security are severe.'\r\nMr. President, the threats to our national security are many, and they are growing in complexity by the day.\r\nBut it's not our strength that tempts our adversaries; it's our weakness.\r\nThe best way to ensure our security and that of our allies is to project strength.\r\nAnd the best way to project strength is to make sound investments in our men and women in uniform and the right investments in sustainment and modernization.\r\nI hope this report will be a wake-up call, and that Democrats will come to the table to continue the work of rebuilding our military in the 116th Congress.\r\nWe need to continue the momentum led by President Trump in restoring our military readiness so that bad actors will rethink their actions.\r\nAnd if I could remind my colleagues, Mr. President, providing the Pentagon funding certainty allows it to leverage its greatest asset: the men and women of our military.\r\nInvesting in our national defense is an investment in the men and women who are currently standing watch around the world this holiday season, forgoing the comforts of home so that we can celebrate with our friends and family.\r\nThis last weekend I had the honor of attending an activation ceremony for the Bravo Battery of the 1-147 Field Artillery of the South Dakota National Guard.\r\nThey are deploying in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve and demonstrating America's commitment to security in Europe at a time of heightened tensions.\r\nWe thank them for their service, and wish them a safe deployment.\r\nMay we think of Bravo Battery and extend our thanks to all the men and women in uniform defending our freedoms this time of year--and may we return in the 116th Congress with a renewed commitment to supporting their mission and needs.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=BD0F3077-DE25-4D1E-B5F9-EF2B4A38FB86"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3811690732836723, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}