“Nobody benefits from the game Democrats are playing with the security and safety of Americans. It is irresponsible for them to seek this shutdown over their agenda on illegal immigration.”

Click here  to watch Sen. Barrasso’s remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor on how Democrats are threatening to shut down the government over the issue of immigration.

Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“As I come to the floor, we are facing the prospect of a government shutdown.

“At midnight, funding runs out, and the lights go dark.

“When that happens, everyone suffers. No one wins.

“Republicans know that, and we’ve offered a solution that keeps the government open and extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

“As a doctor, I will tell you how valuable that program is across the country.

“The House has already passed this legislation.

“Democrats in the Senate have promised to block it.

“They’re bragging that they can shut down the government and that they want to shut down the government.

“Why do they want that?

“Here’s what the New York Times says on the front page this morning: ‘Senate showdown looms as spending bill advances: House approves a stopgap measure while Democrats dig in on immigration.’

“That’s the reason the Democrats want to shut down the government and this entire country.

“The Washington Post says: ‘Shutdown looms despite House action: Democrats tie ‘dreamers’ to passage of budget deal.’

“There it is. The minority leader is forcing a shutdown over an issue of illegal immigration.

“Democrats are ready to set aside all other issues, all other deadlines, and all other priorities.

“Republicans have written and passed legislation that funds the government.

“That means funding for our military and our veterans.

“It means funding for opioid treatment.

“It means funding for everything that our federal government does now.

“It also funds the Children’s Health Insurance Program, not just for a week or a month. It funds it for another six years.

“This is a program that helps provide medical care for almost 9 million children and needy families.

“There are more than 7,300 people in my home state of Wyoming who benefit from this program.

“The money for this program is going to start running out in some places.

“The funding has been in limbo since last fall.

“Some states are getting ready to send out letters to families telling them that their coverage is going to be discontinued because this Senate didn’t act.

“States have been asking us for certainty.

“That’s what we are doing with this legislation.

“We’re providing that certainty. We’re taking care of this program for six years. Democrats are blocking it.

“It does seem to be that what they really want to do is to make a political point at the expense of everything else, and everyone else.

“They’re willing to hold nine million needy children and their families hostage to do it.

“They’re willing to hold hostage more than 300 million Americans who could be harmed by a prolonged government shutdown.

“It’s all over an illegal immigration issue that’s known as DACA.

“It stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

“It was intended as a temporary program to deal with the problem of people who were brought to this country illegally when they were young children.

“The program was set up by an executive action by President Obama. It wasn’t done by a law – it wasn’t a bipartisan program.

“It was a Democrat president acting on his own to kick the can down the road on this issue.

“These issues related to immigration – and specifically illegal immigration – are tough, and we can keep working toward a solution.

“Bipartisan and bicameral talks are happening every day.

“Why would people want to risk blowing up these discussions?

“Whatever we agree to needs to include important matters of border security.

“Border security is national security. That has to be included in any deliberation.

“Any solution is going to have to include some real fixes to our broken immigration system as well – so we’re not just having the same argument in a couple of years.

“Coming up with a solution that does all this is going to take time.

“It’s not something we can do by midnight tonight.

“There’s not even a good reason why we need to rush to solve this problem in just a few hours.

“The fact is that no current DACA recipients will lose their benefits under the program for six months.

“Democrats are setting an arbitrary deadline – at midnight tonight – and they are threatening to shut down the government if their deadline is not met.

“The legislation Republicans have offered takes care of one emergency, and it gives negotiators time to reach consensus on this separate and unrelated subject.

“The continuing resolution already passed by the House provides certainty to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and it allows us the chance to work out some certainty on the DACA issue.

“Some Democrats are saying that they refuse to do that.

“Why? It’s interesting because, in 2013, Senator Schumer thought that a government shutdown was a terrible idea.

“He said: ‘No matter how strongly one feels about an issue, you shouldn’t hold millions of people hostage. … That’s wrong, and we can’t give in to that.’

“The Democratic leader even spelled out the exact situation we’re facing today. He did it not just on the Senate floor. He did it on television.

“He went on television in 2013 and said: ‘We could do the same thing on immigration. We believe strongly in immigration reform. We could say, ‘We’re shutting down the government, we’re not gonna raise the debt ceiling, until you pass immigration reform.’ It would be governmental chaos.’

“That’s what Senator Schumer said in 2013 – and now he is trying to create exactly that same government chaos he described then.

“He’s doing it over exactly the issue he talked about then.

“What’s different now is that Democrats have decided to stake all of their political hopes on this one issue.

“They are holding America hostage to do it.

“Nobody benefits from the Democrats shutting down the government.

“Nobody benefits from the game Democrats are playing with the security and safety of Americans.

“It is irresponsible for them to seek this shutdown over their agenda on illegal immigration.

“We should pass the resolution we have before us.

“It’s time for Democrats should step back from the damage that a shutdown will cause to children, to our military, to our veterans, to our economy, and return to the table.

“Heed your own advice, Senator Schumer – don’t play politics with people’s lives to create ‘governmental chaos.’”

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