{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://flores.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398901", "The Daily Caller: RSC Chair Bill Flores Says Border Security Should Be A Top Priority In 2017", "2016-12-15", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "TX", "Bill Flores", "F000461", "flores.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By: Juliegrace BrufkeSecuring the border was one of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s top campaign platforms, and outgoing Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores is ready to make that goal a reality.\r\nWhile the Republican Party has an ambitious agenda laid out for 2017, Flores said there are four policy areas he hopes they can tackle early on \u2014 repealing and replacing Obamacare, tax reform, fixing the regulatory environment and restoring the country\u2019s national security. Flores said he\u2019s excited to get things moving in Washington, especially after hearing Vice President-elect Mike Pence lay out the administration\u2019s priorities in a speech last week, adding he\u2019s confident Trump\u2019s selection to head the Department of Homeland Security, former Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, is more than qualified for the position.\r\n\u201cWhat I\u2019d like to see, first of all, is the commitment, and Donald Trump has been absolutely clear that we are going to have a renewed sense of border security,\u201d he told The Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cAnd if you look at his cabinet appointees, we\u2019ve got a former general that\u2019s going to run Homeland Security, so that\u2019s good.\u201d\r\nTrump has been vocal about his\u00a0plans to construct\u00a0a wall along on the southern border, which has been met with some pushback from proponents of taking a more lax immigration approach. But Flores said once the commitment is made, Republicans envision a defense system along the border strong enough to keep bad actors, such as\u00a0drug cartels and terrorist, out.\r\n\u201cWe need a commitment, number one, and the other pieces will come together as we move forward \u2014 in some areas we are going to have a wall, in other areas where it\u2019s less feasible to have a wall, then you\u2019ll have a virtual wall that consists of airborne observation resources, censors, boots on the ground everywhere \u2014 whether there\u2019s a physical wall or a virtual wall \u2014 then you\u2019ll need to have intelligence assets to control the border,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, that\u2019s what I see, a holistic approach to border security.\u201d\r\nA number of top GOP lawmakers \u2014 including House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Florida Rep.\u00a0Dennis Ross, who sits on Trump\u2019s transition team \u2014\u00a0have suggested\u00a0the wall would consist of a combination of both brick-and-mortar components and other\u00a0surveillance tactics\u00a0that work with area\u2019s terrain.\r\nTrump made it clear he plans to take a hard line on immigration, reiterating that his administration will not tolerate illegal immigrants crossing over the borders or rising in the country if they have a criminal history.\r\n\r\nThe U.S.-Mexican border spans roughly\u00a02,000 miles, including a large part of the Rio Grande River.\r\n\r\nTo read full article click here", 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": ["http://flores.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398901"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4728391543030739, "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"}