Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
Floor Speech
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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I rise to encourage my colleagues to support my amendment to the appropriations for the Department of the Interior to prohibit any funds from being used to finalize President Biden's proposed rule which would list two species of mussels in the Rio Grande River as ``endangered'' and their habitat as ``critical.''
Unfortunately, it appears to me that our President cares more about the Mexican mussel and protecting this critical habitat than protecting the American people against violent Mexican drug cartels who he has ceded control of our border to.
The only critical habitat that is endangered along the Rio Grande--I can say this as a Texan who has been there multiple times--are the people in the communities living alongside the Rio Grande because of the deluge of people, crime, and drugs pouring into our communities not only in Texas but throughout the country.
It is clear and evident to everyone in this country that our President has failed in his first and most important job, to provide for the common defense, to enforce the laws of the land, and to secure our sovereign border.
Eight million people have crossed our border illegally. Just in this past year, almost 3.5 million, a record. Last month, 270,000, a record. Record drug flow. Record migrant deaths. Record abuses and humanitarian crimes.
Title 8 of the U.S. Code says that no citizen can induce someone to break the law and they cannot harbor lawbreakers, but that is exactly what is going on. In title 8 of the Federal code, they call it aiding and abetting criminals. That is what our Federal Government, under our Commander in Chief and CEO, President Biden, is sanctioning and legitimizing.
Thankfully, there is a section in the Constitution, Article I, Section 10, that affirms that States have the sovereign right of self- defense. When there is an invasion or States experience imminent danger such that will not permit delay, they have the sovereign right to protect themselves.
Here is the deal. President Biden isn't only abdicating his first and most important responsibility as President and Commander in Chief, he is infringing on States like Texas and their right to defend themselves and their citizens.
This is the case with this Mexican mussel. He is harassing our Governor and State leaders as they desperately try to do what he has failed to do, and that is secure our sovereign border and protect the citizens of Texas.
Mr. President, if you want to protect mussels in the Rio Grande River, stop illegal crossings, not the buoys in the States that are desperately trying to protect their citizens.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I find it rich with irony that the President decides, in this administration, after Governor Abbott and our State leaders--in a desperate attempt to protect their citizens and our sovereign border as a result of the failure and abdication of border security, which is a national security issue and a responsibility of our Federal Government--put out these buoy barriers to prevent people from taking the dangerous trek across the river and to uphold the law of the land.
Here comes our President, who I think--and I hate to impugn such bad motives to our President, but I think he is more concerned about appeasing the open border left than he actually is about the Mexican mussel, quite frankly. He didn't care that there were millions of people crossing the border illegally, trampling this very ``critical habitat'' of the Mexican mussel.
Never once was that an issue for the Secretary of the Interior or this administration until Texans decided to stand up and fight for the safety of their citizens and to again honor and uphold the rule of law and our sovereignty as a State.
That is an indication that maybe this President isn't quite concerned about critical habitat.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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