Providing for Consideration of the Senate Amendment to H.R. Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security At the Southern Border Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. STIVERS. 3401, with the Senate amendments thereto, and concur with the Senate amendment. This bipartisan bill passed the Senate with 84 votes and it could be sent to the President for his signature today.

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Mr. STIVERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. We have a crisis on our southern border, and H.R. 3401 with the Senate amendments gets resources to give humanitarian assistance to those seeking asylum.

It also adds judges and judge teams to hear the claims of asylum. Many people have to wait up to 3 years to get their hearing. That is too long. I have twice in the last 2 weeks attempted to offer an amendment to add judge teams. Both times, the Rules Committee has failed to include it.

My amendment this week would have included the amount that was in the Senate bill, but it is now in the bill because we have the Senate bill sitting at the Speaker's desk.

I urge my colleagues to take up the bill with the Senate amendments that include judge teams. That is the only way to solve this real crisis: adjudicate the claims of these people who want asylum, reunite families, and stop people from being held in detention as long.

Mr. Gonzalez from Texas and I have worked together on this. It is a bipartisan effort. This is a no-brainer. We need to add judges. The Senate bill does that.

Madam Speaker, I hope we can take up the Senate bill and make it happen.

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