Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Chairman, I want to start by thanking both the chairman of the subcommittee and the ranking member for the fine work they have done in this underlying bill. I have been with them on a couple of occasions, and we owe them a great debt of gratitude. The bipartisanship showed in this is a great reflection on our institution.

I regret that I have to offer this amendment, but something has come up since the committee had its meeting that I could not foresee.

My amendment will address a serious issue relating to unaccompanied alien children being housed at the Department of Defense facilities across the United States.

The Department of Health and Human Services has recently made agreements with various defense facilities across the U.S. about housing unaccompanied minors who are caught crossing the southern border. The large number of migrants from Central and South America crossing our southern border is a serious humanitarian crisis, and I understand the need to responsibly handle this situation with compassion.

That said, it simply makes no sense for these individuals to be held at military installations. These facilities often pose serious safety issues for children. Some of the children could be placed near live artillery ranges around active military airfields.

I represent a district in coastal Alabama, and my office recently learned that the Department of Health and Human Services was evaluating housing illegal immigrants at Navy outlying airfields right near the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Chairman, these are airfields where they do touch- and-goes, where you have pilots that are being trained trying to learn how to do it right. Last time I checked, we try to keep children away from airfields, not put them close to them.

Even worse, these facilities lack basic infrastructure needs. There is no sewage, and as far as I know, there is no potable water. And there are no shelters there or buildings that could be turned into shelters. This means temporary housing would be set up at a Navy airfield on the Gulf Coast in the middle of hurricane season in a low- lying wet area that is prone to many mosquitos in a place we know is a major threat for Zika. The idea just defies logic.

There are other horror stories of housing these migrants and how it has impacted our military. For example, at Fort Hood in Texas, units have been unable to train on ranges. This has a direct and negative impact on military readiness. At a time when we face so many challenges around the globe, it just makes no sense to alter the intended use of our military facilities to serve a completely different purpose.

My amendment would simply prohibit the Department of Defense from using any funds to alter existing facilities or construct new ones for the purpose of providing temporary housing for unaccompanied alien children. There are other nondefense facilities near the border that are available. They do not have to use military facilities.

I ask my colleagues to support my amendment as we work to ensure that defense funds are not spent on issues outside the mission of the Department of Defense.

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Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Chairman, I completely agree with the ranking member that we take great pride in opportunities for our military around the world to do things of a humanitarian nature. That is one of the hallmarks of the United States.

I am thinking more in this circumstance, however, about the needs of these children. I would not put my children out where they are talking about putting these children in my district. I daresay none of us would want our children to be in these places. It is simply not safe for them. With this Zika threat that is out there, we can't say that they are not going to be exposed to mosquitos that we know are vectors for this disease.

Unfortunately, where I live, this time of year, we have tropical storms, and we have hurricanes. Those children can't stay there in temporary housing. This is simply not the right place to put them.

There are other facilities that the Federal Government owns that are military facilities that are appropriate, that are closer to the border. And HHS is simply refusing to do its job by putting them in those places and burdening the Department of Defense facilities by putting them in those places, and they are not the right places for these children.

I understand the gentleman's remarks. I agree with virtually everything that he said, but I think, in this particular circumstance, this amendment is in order.

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Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman, and I thank the House for listening to me. I ask for a positive vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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