on sunday at 9:00 a.m. eastern party announces presidential nominee for the november election. the libertarian national convention live friday at 3:30 p.m. eastern on c-span are video app andnlinspan.org. thursday the senate is expected to lead procedural vote on border security bill that failed to get enough support earlier this year after it was negotiated by a group of republican and democratic senators. the legislation would modify current asylum requirements and empower the present to shut down the border under specific circumstances. i don't devote setters from both sides of they'll spoke on the floor about the need to address issues at the border on the latest attempt to advance legislation, which will require support of at least 60 senators. >> through everyday republicans

come to this floor curtails how much they care about the border how much they believe in border security. and yet, at get when they have an opportunity to do something about it they don't balk that ty run for the hills. at the pass legislation that secures the border. it is not secure itself by itself. our statutes are outdated per our border patrol does not have enough resources. you have to change the law, you have to put more recesses on the border that's of the bipartisan security bill did. i regret the fact all but four republicans voted against itsa after they requested we engage in a bipartisan process to develop the border security bill after they demanded we pass bipartisan border security legislation. but because we believe this issue is so important because the american people believe

securing our border compassionately treating those who arrive at our border is such an t important issue. we are going to bring this bill back for the vote tomorrow wereg to give republicans a secondt chance to do it they said they want to do work across the aisle in a bipartisan way to provide more resources to control our southwest border. in some glad to be on the floor today with a number of my colleagues this is the time to pass significant bipartisan to secure our border. to reform broken immigration system. it's what the american people want the security of this country the prospects the opportunity to have this week grateful to have so many of my colleagues starting our remarks will beat senator kaine. i yielde: the floor. >> madames president. >> a senator from virginia

projects madam president i'm thrilled to join my colleagues on the floor to talk about the importance of this border security bill. i am also going to talk about my own naïveté and admit to being a very naïve senator. i came in the senate in 2013 with senator murphy on the first of june june my first of the senate has passed a significant bipartisan immigration reform bill. that immigration reform bill was comprehensive. including a 40 plus a billion dollar investment in border security. we passed it in a bipartisan way with nearly 70 boats might meet naïveté it was this yes there was a republican house when the bill went over there having been a governor wash of state legislators work i assume the republican house would not just embrace our bill but they would do their own version of an immigration bill and then we would sit down in a conference and hashed out some middle

ground. i was wrong for the republican majority has decided to bottle the bill up in committee, it never took it up and never did their own bill that was in 2013 the education of eight naïve senator. years later in 2019 during the trump administration we had a republican majority in this body we dealt directly president trump he wanted $25 billion in border security over 10 years. and we basically came up with an offerfo that was can you take ys for an answer? i was part of an eight-member crewde negotiating a bipartisan deal. protection for dreamers and border security. every penny donald trump asked for, not 1 penny at last he told us he supported dreamers pretty told us that the bill got to him he would sign it because at a democratic house of you to get to this body will get it to president trump's desk. as soon as we rolled out the bill with eight democrats and eight republicans as cosponsors

president trump did 180, turn tail, trash the dreamers encourage republicans for the second t time we did a bipartisn deal is going to do big things of the whole lot in security. now this most recent effort. i so applaud centers murphy, lankford and others in the administration who worked on this deal. bipartisan border security provision with other important provisions. normalization of afghan refugees we have more and virginia more than any other state. really important work in this bill. bipartisan. it is not lost on me how hard it is to do a deal for both the american immigration lawyersas association and the border patrol union who tend to be quite opposite politically take a look at a compromise and say this is not perfect but we need

to do this. i do not know of another issue for these two organizations have said we need to do this. that was that needle that these senators were able to thread after months and months and months of negotiation. but just as in the first to incidences a significant effort to protect our board and make our country safer and a bipartisan way got shot down on president trump came out and encourage republicans to oppose it. even though they had been briefed on negotiated every step of the way. supported president trump asid soon as he said they should oppose it. folks turn tail and ran. president trump was honest. i will give him this he was honest about the reason he didn't say oppose it because he didn't like clause a or classy.. he pretty much said we don't want to fix this problem. we would rather raise heck about this problem and blame joe biden about this problem and fix this problem. we are sent here to solve w problems. but we have a bipartisan

solution to fit this narrow window or both left and right says the right step to take, we should do it. so glad this is going be up on the floor for a vote tomorrow look forward to joining my colleagues in supportingup it. urge others to do the same. you'll back madam president. >> center for michigan for quick thinking madam president really pleased to be here on the floor with my colleagues who just want to get something done on the border part have monthly talks about this? h sedrick cain talked about 2013 bird i was here as well. it was an amazingly difficult piece of legislation to negotiate at the time. but it was comprehensive. in the end was a big bipartisan vote in the united states senate. i agree senator came and went to the house without okay, we have thput together this comprehensie a bill it's not only border

security it is about how we manage and create the pathway to citizenship and address the young people who have been there at their whole lives, who have been here as dreamers and agricultural jobs which i work with all the time with our farmers need ag labor and need to know if there is a legal path to be able to have people work here. and it covered everything. and at that time are public because of the house h did not want to deal with it. did not want to solve it. we've been down this road before. but i really did think this time in the context of the national security bill and the demand they would not consider the supplemental security issues without a tough border bill. okay, here we go. now we all know major negotiations months of negotiations senator murphy,

center sinema, december lankford i've been stretching and pushing get to a spot for something that was really, really make a difference. and they did. the vast majority of us that okay, we are going topo support it. that was 105 days ago. 105 days ago. republican colleagues had a chance to solve the issue that keep coming every date we need to do something about the border. a we offer a bipartisan bill, a tough bill to do something about the border and at the last minute they said no. i went to speak about one piece in your that is so important with think about the southern border there is certainly finding an ear for the northern border. but one of the things that is in here and i know our presiding

officer cares deeply about as well but it affects every part of the country certainly affects michigan as the capacity to stop the flow of deadly encinal. so important. it is in this bill. on april 2, the justice department announced the largest law enforcement seizure april 2. 40 kilos of fentanyl or found. enough to kill every single michigan resident. on april 19 raise the alarm is it really bad patch of fentanyl in michigan. warned the public there had been six drug overdoses in 11 days. what's going on here? only takes one pill cause of death. these are two headlines from

last month in michigan. they do not come close to encapsulating the pain, and the tragedy michigan families have faced over the years due to drug overdoses it. so, we have got it. do more to combat the fentanyl crisis. this bill does that. this bill actually does that. we need to give u.s. customs and border security the tools they need to stop the drugs from crossing the border. to combat the fentanyl crisis this bill would invest 2400 more customs and border protectionor officers. desperately needed. new innovative inspection equipment to decrease it. we got this all kinds of ways of coming in from tires and every part of a vehicle.

every imaginable way is coming in. there is equipment that can detect that. we need the new innovative equipment at the border.dr to help our agents. drug enforcement agency efforts to disrupt a drug trafficking networks and mexico, in this bill.ab enhanced lab analysis of fentanyl samples in this bill. improve technology for economists capabilities, air assets, and this bill. in the bill we will be voting on tomorrow. and so when we are colleagues talk about doinget something wih the drug overdoses or o fentany, they have a chance tomorrow to vote to do that. but it has been 105 days since republicans were given the opportunity for a strong bipartisan bill that included fentanyl efforts in 105 days ago

they killed the bill. . and we know why. we know why. it's been said over and over again. donald trump told them to. he called the people and said we don't want to solve this. we want chaos. that's my middle name. maybe it's his first name, i don't know. but chaos, chaos, chaos, chaos. we want people to be afraid. we don't care about people getting hurt about what's happening. he actually was quoted as saying p please blame it on me. i want you to vote against it. please blame it on me, which we are more than happy to do, because it was him. it was him. we want to solve the challenges at the border. we know they are serious. and we want to give the biden administration additional tools to solve them. and they want that. they have been asking in every single budget since president biden was elected, every single

budget he's asked for more resources to do the things in this bill. and folks have said no, no, no, no, no. this legislation does what needs needs toto be done and as i've said before, it was bipartisan and wee appreciate that. let's be clear this bill would significantly improve the nation's security and the number of important ways. it would've reformed the broken asylum system so that decisions would be made more quickly on who should be allowed to remain in the country and who should be departed. those allowed to stay work would be provided authorization to work so they could take care of themselves and their families and fill crucial jobs in the economy while waiting for their cases to be resolved. the legislation would create a new emergency authority that would allow the president of the

united states to pause the processing of asylum claims of migrants who arrive before points of entry when he cases rise above a certain point. about expanded legal pathways to citizenship and increase access to work authorizations, something that republicans claim to support and of those immigrants that served in the military would gain a quicker access to citizenship, something i think that we would agree they all have learned. and sometimes people forget that my state of michigan is a border state. this would provide that for $100 million and grants to states. it's extremely important toeo me and the people i represent. republicans say they care about

solving the challenges at the border. their actions unfortunately show otherwise. we stand ready to pass this legislation. we stand ready to strengthen our border security and to keep our communities safe. tomorrow our republican colleagues will be given another chance t. the senator from delaware. >> for years many our colleagues on the senate floor sat in committee rooms and said there was a crisis at the southern

border and they've been right. today we had the opportunity to do something about it. once again we had bipartisan legislation before us that works to address the challenges o of e decades old immigration system. along with other colleagues here this afternoon, iur rise to have members put aside politics to fix our immigration system for about as long as i can remember.

it's never beenee more true. thanks to the tireless work of the democrats in connecticut and those in arizona along with members of the staff would reach a bipartisan compromise on one of the toughest issues the country faces today. four months of negotiations between theee three colleagues and members of the biden administration including the secretary of homeland security we've crafted the strongest border security bill in decades. the legislation produced during these negotiations proved the bipartisanship is not just aspirational. it is ours to grasp. it's ours for the taking. legislation produced during these negotiations proves the

bipartisanship is not just aspirational but is actually possible. despite all this hard work and countless hours our colleagues invested in handing out this critical piece of legislation. many of the republican colleagues rejected the same bill earlier this year at the behest of donald trump. i'd like to quote again as senator stabenow has what donald trump said on his social media account earlier this year and this is a quote. republicans should stop placing their time on immigration until after we elect more senators and congressmen and women in november. democrats are just playing games and have no intention of doing anything to solve this decades-old problem. we could pass great legislation after. negotiating in good faith it was

donald trump who decided he would rather keep us in chaos of the border rather than to deal with it and fix it. it was also incredibly disappointing to see some of the republican colleagues especially in the house turned their backs on this bipartisan approach and play politics with the immigration policy. fixing the crisis at the southern border requires tough policy choices but also gives us an opportunity to seek wisdom from description. matthew 25 we find the words when i was a stranger in your land did you welcome me. when i was a stranger in your land did you welcome me. many seeking often times leave their home countries and horrible conditions at home to

seek a better life in this country. a life of freedom and opportunity. we know all too well the factors that have contributed to the challenges at the border. among them are the global pandemic, increased violence ine criminal activity, the smuggling ofof illicit narcotics and the nations own devastating addiction to illegal drugs not to mention authoritarian government rule and poverty throughout the southern hemisphere. those areth just some of the rot causes. if we are serious about addressing the challenges of the immigration system, it is imperative that we focus on these root causes of migration. the bipartisan border act before us would work to make the country safer by increasing resources and implementing policy changes both at the

border and to our immigration system as a whole. there's numerous endorsements from some unlikely places including the border patrol union and the u.s. chamber of commerce. so today we now have another opportunity to choose policy over politics, to choose principle over politics. everyone knows k that improving the security of the border is not just good policy, it is the right thing to do. in fact 84% of all voters in the country believe that we should be prioritizing the refund to the immigration system rather than sticking to the status quo, 84%. we are elected to serve the american people and we have an opportunity today to meet that

responsibility by enacting the legislation that is before us. working together is possible and nowpr it is up to the rest of us to do the right thing. let's finish the job, let's implement a lasting solution and let's do it together. with that, i will yield back the floor. >> the senator from new hampshire. >> madamhe president, i agree wh my colleagues we have a crisis at the southern border and in new hampshire, it's affecting us because there are too many deadly drugs flowing into the country and not enough technology and equipment and personnel to stop it. it's not every day that i agree with my republican colleagues on an issue as big as the border but on this one i agree we needed to act. grthat's why a group of

negotiators republicans were led by senator langford, democrats like senator murphy and senator sinema i appreciate the work that all three of them did. they rolled up their sleeves and got to work for months. they ironed out small details of the bill that we voted on that's before us and the final agreement is the strictest i think that's worth repeating. it is the strictest border security legislation that we've seen certainly since my time in the senate. a historic agreement to supply the border with critical resources that are necessary to increase security, to stop the flow of illicit drugs. american colleagues were before the bill until donald trump put his thumb on the scale and said don't fix the border i want to campaign on and as a crisis.

and as we heard, he acknowledged. we t should blame him for the ft the border deal failed. gubut unfortunately, our colleagues walked away from the strictest border security deal that we've had in decades all because donald trump told them to make it a campaign issue rather than do what's in the best interest of the country. we need to pass this bill because it includes more funding for identifying, tracking and stopping fentanyl at the borde. i don't know about all of our colleagues, but in my home state of new hampshire we have lost too many people because they have died from fentanyl overdoses. in a period from 2013 to 2023, new hampshire lost 4616 people

from overdoses. 4,616. the majority of those people died as the result of fentanyl and about 70% of those were the result of fentanyl and anything we can do to cut down on the amount that is coming into the united states we ought to be doing it. we know that it's moved across the us-mexico border in huge quantities often in cars and trucks and we know that it comes across almost 100% of the ports ofan entry. they can't search every vehicle in every way and that's why we need technology. we need to be able to scan vehicles for drugs and other contraband. we need to make sure they can expand these capacities which is why there is a provision in the bill to provide significant increases in funding for cdv to deploy more nonintrusive inspection technology that would

more efficiently and effectively search for fentanyl and other drugs. the bill also gives immigration and customs enforcement increased funding to focus on counter counterfeit investigations because we need more boots on the ground dedicated. the danger demands more actions in congress. we need more funding and agents on the border and with this bill, we would do just that. now, new hampshire it also doesn't a border and our southern border. but it b does border canada whih is the largest border in the world over 5,000 miles. new hampshire has a very short piece of that but there are many stretches of the border particularly in new hampshire that are remote and scarcely

populated andot unlike many borders, not militarized. that means the northern border is vulnerable to exploitation. and we have a program that we have had in past budgets called operationto stone garden. it's in the department of homeland security, so senator peters i know knows that program but it's helped police departments providing annual grants to help them particularly in rural areas that are struggling to fund normal operations let alone responsibility from the border. this is to patrol the border along with the u.s. border patrol. sadly,er in the northern border, most of those funds have been diverted to the southern border and many of the agents that have patrolled the northern border have beenee diverted to the southernrd border. that is a challenge for states

like new hampshire and others where we b have large sections d we don't even have access to internet, so there are cameras on the border but they can't pick up anything because we don't have a signal. butee despite the programs importance it's been underfunded for years leaving states without sufficientf resources. one of the pieces we are going to vote on tomorrow is theha $100 million with 25% that would go to states that are not on the southwest border, states like new hampshire to make sure that our lawur enforcement is also supported and well-funded. so, we have a lot to do with our border.ur passing the bill tomorrow,

getting our republican colleagues to join usss would me a huge difference addressing the challenges of the southern border. i hope that they will join us and put aside of the opposition from donald trump and that they will do what is inbe the best interest of the country, not what iser in the best interest f donald trump. >> thank you madam president. i yield the floor. >> tomorrow the senate will consider legislation that will send a critical resources to secure the borders the legislation was forged by serious bipartisan negotiations. but when it first came to the senate floor this past february, my republican colleagues voted against it and brought us from having a debate on this most serious of issues.

they plan unfortunately to do the same tomorrow. they are once again refusing to even come to the table to help strengthen the border security and support lawful trade and travel that drives the economy. this bill is not perfect, not comprehensive immigration reform, but we must keep working ngtowards a broader approach whe we modernize immigration laws and address the immigration system as a whole. but we cannot let that hold us backbu from taking action right now to secure our borders. this legislation is a meaningful step in the right direction. it would address some of the most pressing challenges and tackle them head on. it would allow us to hire more than 2,000 cbp officers addressing a critical shortage of front-line personnel who safeguard the national security

at points of entry each and every day and provide a $2 billion for the advanced screening technology that would allow the cbp to expand helping them to identify cargo and stop dangerous drugs like fentanyl from reaching and poisoning the communities. fentanyl overwhelmingly enters this country through the ports of entry. the bill also aims to change the asylum application process a priority that congress has been unable to pass for decades. republicans in congress like to talk about the need to secure the borders and also to instill fear across the country. when you get a common sense a bill like the one before us that aims to address the problems they claim theyhe want to solve, they simply walk away. they talk the talk but refuse to walk the walk.

that's why republicans walked away last february and took orders from donald trump when he told them to vote against the legislation they made it clear that republicans would rather campaign than actually fix it. they would rather throw rocks then solve the problems facing the country and unfortunately, it looks like they are going to do it all again tomorrow. americans deserve better. our communities deserve better, our front-line personnel deserve better. the victims of the fentanyl crisis deserve better. ofs those fleeing horrendous conditions into seeking asylum on the southern border, they deserve better. and it is a shame that my republican colleagues have decided not to act because these

challenges are not going to go away on their own. as the chairman of the homeland security committee i've craftedb bipartisan bills and past common sense border security legislation in my committee. i've had the opportunity to work with key senators on this issue including senators langford, cinema and murphy who helped broker this a deal in the first place and i'm going to keep working with any member of the chamber and to forge solutions to help the country and i hope some republicans join me. the floor. loor. >> the gentleman from wisconsin. >> i rise today in support of securing our border and taking action to fix the broken immigration system. let's back up for a minute. fixing the immigration system and securing the border has

debated congress for decades. we have poured many hours and inc. to solve theny issues we he and we have come close. i was proud to advance the bipartisan gang of eight immigration reform that would have tightened border security, provided pathways to citizenship and expanded work visas. i.e. along with many in this chamber also voted for a m bipartisan billsa that would hae given a path to citizenship for the 1.8 million dreamers. we nearly passed the commonsense plan that would have invested $25 billion in border security all of these efforts, every single one of them died at the hands of congressional

republicans. recently democrats and t republicans came to the table yet again to find a path forward on border security and fixes to the immigration system. together my colleagues from both parties worked hard to find a bipartisan compromise. and they did. the result was a strong measure even and endorsed by the largest border patrol union that curbs the flow of fentanyl from coming across the border, expedites the asylum process and boosts border security. what hits closest to home for me and every family watched a loved one pass away from fentanyl poisoning green overdose, we have a chance to disrupt the

flow of these dangerous drugs into the communities. in the two-year period from 2021 to 2022, over 2,800 died of an opioid -related overdose in just two years thousands of wisconsin families lost a loved one and gained an empty seat at the dinner table. one mother got a call one november morning notifying her that her son, a freshman at uw milwaukee had passed away. the night before he had gone out with friends. he took one pill that he thought was percocet.on it turned out to be 100% fentanyl.

michelle told me. he was home from college the weekend before he died talking about changing his major from psychology and how he wanted to travel the world. hend deserved to learn from his mistakes, not died from it. he didn't overdose from taking one pill. he was poisoned. that's the stark reality of fentanyl. one pill can kill. in 2020 over 85% of opioid deaths were connected to a synthetic or manufactured opioid like fentanyl. we can and must do more to stop illicit drugs from coming to the community, and we have that chance in front of us right now. we are bringing this bill back up because this is what the american people are demanding. while wisconsin is not on the

southern border, we are impacted by the flow of fentanyl coming across the border and wisconsinites want action. this bipartisan border compromise is that action. the legislation will invest in 100 new cutting edge that help detect fentanyl at the points of entry. it also strengthens border security with more than 2400 new customs and protection officers at the southwest border and give the president's new authority to shut down the border when the system is overwhelmed. not only with this compromise and combat the crisis but also it gives us the opportunity to take on an immigration system that has been broken for decades.l if passed, this bill would investing asylum officers to

expedite the process. we would also send more resources to help communities across the country struggling to provide critical services to newcomers and expedite work permits for people in the country and qualify so newcomers can provide for their families and help us meet workforce demands and help wisconsin businesses and farms. with communities across wisconsin into the country receiving migrants, this bill would deliver them the necessary resources so that the boots on the ground w can effectively welcome those entering the country and not stress the often stretched budgets. many republicans walked away from this a deal that they negotiated more than 100 days ago because some would rather make this a campaign issue. i would prefer to make aen

difference our constituents expect or frankly they demand that we come here and work in good faith. what have been a step in the right direction, yes. i know everyone got everything they wanted. the bill as a compromise and to do even if we passed the bill we must remain committed to fixing our immigration system including creating a clear path to citizenship for immigrants already here especially our dreamers. but in this instance we cannot let perfect be the enemy of the good. we cannot allow politics to win over progress. we cannot allow the same

washington games to stop us from saving lives. right now we have a chance to take a step in the right direction. a chance to do the right thing for moms like michelle and every parent who's lost a child to fentanyl. let's do something right now to secure the border, stop the flow of fentanyl, fix the broken immigration system and make a difference for americans. i yield the floor. thank you, madam president. i'm honored to join my colleagues in this colloquy and to support this measure. we are nearing a vote tomorrow. the debate will continue and whether this measure passes were

not tomorrow is the beginning of what we need to do and there will be votes on other steps that t carry forward the effort that this bipartisan security act reflects. but we must act. to fix the broken immigration system and find a path towards earned citizenship for tens of millions of undocumented and of course for the dreamers and to fill jobs that otherwise will be vacant. we often hear republicans talk

about the need to secure the border. i sit on the judiciary committee where it seems my republican colleagues want to talk and talk about the border. every hearing, every mark up map regardless of our actual agenda. republicans want to talk about the border so much that they sent us contrived articles of impeachment against the cabinet secretary for the first time in 150 years. politics is the reason this body failed to pass this measure just months ago. so for republican colleagues claiming that politics is the reason we are here, yes, their

presumptive nominee saying that they should not vote for it because of the political advantage. and others that worked on this issues, the judiciary overwhelmingly approved are bipartisan measure that then was approved by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in this body and went to the house where it died, not because it was voted down, but simply because it n hd no votea the speaker of the hoe refused to give it a vote.

we provided a path to earned citizenship for 11 million then undocumented for the dreamers and provided billions of dollars forty border security and reford a visa and asylum program. among other ways by enabling more fairness and that system. this bill is the strongest measure in recent history endorsed by the national border patrol council and union of border patrol agents. and let's be very clear, it was a tough compromise. it limitedan asylum claims in ws

that many democrats and i remained concerned about doing, but it includes some key democratic priorities including ayproviding new pathways to citizenship for our afghan out risk allies entering legal representation to vulnerable children under 13 attempting to navigate the immigration process on their own and providing for new ways for family members to enter the united states legally for short stays to visit relatives and attend major life events. that's an issue i've worked with colleagues across the aisle for years as well as some of those other provisions. these are key parts of the democratic vision for immigration. six are broken immigration system is to continue growing the economy and maintain america's international

leadership at the time of severe global unrest. it will be tough for my republican colleagues tol vote for this measure and many of us, but that's why we are here and that's the measure of why it is a compromise. a lot of what's here we wouldn't choose to include. let me conclude by saying donald trump once the campaign on the border. the question is whether my republican colleagues are so beholden that they will follow that lead and at the end of the day take the country with them. my democratic colleagues and i are not giving up. we will keep faith with you.

to the undocumented millions around the unitedng states who e paying taxes, working harder, following all the rules, we will keep pace with you. businesses that want more visas so they can have workers, skilled we will keep faith with you and faith with america on this issue. we are not abandoning this effort. thank you, madam president. >> the senior senator from minnesota. >> i ask unanimous consent the following senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled vote. myself for up to five minutes, senator schumer for up to two minutes, senator murphy for up to ten minutes, senator butler for up to five minutes. without objection. >> madam president, i rise today along with senator murphy and blumenthal and so many others in support of bipartisan legislation to improve the

immigration system as we face global and domestic threats and the points of entry it must be a top priority. ase we've discussed we had an opportunity in february to move forward in a bipartisan manner on broad and important reforms into security measures that senators murphy, langford and cinema spent months negotiating. i will note the legislation of senator blumenthal noted included my a bipartisan bill to keep the covenant with thousands of afghans living in the u.s. who fought shoulder a to shouldr a top priority of the american legion and of those that served inta afghanistan these were ther interpreters, these were the ones that gather their intelligence and now 80,000 of them are in our country living with a trapdoor under them not

tknowing if they will be sent back to the telegram. working yes, but they need a permanent status and that is this bill i have with senator graham would support on the afghan adjustment act as cosponsors senator risch and the ranking foreign relations. when it comes to the borders though as we were talking about today, the comprehensive legislation would have invested in hiring more border patrol agents and immigration judges while giving law enforcement the tools and technologies they need to make a safe border. it would fix the asylum system and yes we have another opportunity to actually write this wrong and get this

bipartisan bill done. border security demand is that we invest in both our southern and northern borders, which is something i like about the legislation having lived on the state that borders canada. the longest border in the world, america and canada. a strong secure northern borders is critical for maintaining the trade relations, for maintaining the screening database, and we have witnessed terrible instances of drug smuggling and human trafficking. last year border patrol agents and sheriff's deputies in minnesota stopped the human smuggling attempt. that's why this legislation is so important. and of key importance to me and i know in the state of wisconsin is fentanyl and of the work that can be done if this bill passes not only to give emergency powers to shut down the border,

but also to ensure that we take on fentanyl trafficking. one pill kills. they are getting in the hands of schoolchildren. these pills are getting in the hands of people that have no idea that the pills they have are leased with fentanyl. fentanyl is a leading cause of death for americans ages 18 to 45. in synthetic opioid skill more than 150 people a day and a dose of just 2 milligrams small enough to fit on the tip of the pencil. while being a student at the university of north dakota and a fake pills laced with fentanyl, devon from hastings who brought a percocet over snap chat. it wasn't really a percocet, laced with fentanyl and it

killed him. he was only 19. that's why we call on our colleagues to join us in support of the border act. the legislation supported by border patrol agents gives law enforcement officers significant funding to hire more officers nkand intercept fentanyl coming into the country. there is not controversy about this bill except on the political side. if you look at this from the viewpoint of americans and what makes people safer and will. kids from diane because they take one pill that they don't know has fentanyl, the answer is simple. thank you madam president. i yield the floor.

>> i want to thank all of my colleagues participated and of course senator klobuchar and others who participated. what we are talking about is the need to pass the bipartisan bill to crack down on fentanyl entering the country. everyone of us have talked to family that have lost loved ones because of fentanyl. some didn't even know their loved ones had taken fentanyl and were dead within 24 hours, just gone. i've experienced that with some families, so now we have the chance to do something with itit in this bill. tomorrow senators face an important decision. will both sides come together to advance a bipartisan border security bill orwell or will partisanship get in the way yet again. three months ago donald trump told his republican allies to

block the strongest bipartisan border bill congress has ever seen in a generation, something that would have done a great deal to stop the flow of the vicious fentanyl into theat unid states so we are trying again tomorrow because we hear about these families mentioned. of this bipartisan bill was written with a goal of getting 60 votes in the senate. it had input from both republicans and democrats. it was totally put together by republicans thatic had virtually no democratic support. if anything is political, it is hr too. two. it's been usedy, politically but never seriously to get something done. so let's be perfectly clear. the bipartisan bill represents a chance in fact the best chance in decades and would make huge

scores delivering billions for the dhs to hire officers to focus exclusively and billions we now have state-of-the-art equipment to detect the border why are we not allocating the money to pay for it instead of playing political games? we should be doing that right now. i think my democratic colleagues who today are here highlighting how the bill does more than anything we have done thus far to deal with the scourge of fentanyl. if you told me a year ago that this kind of bill that we have beforeow us, that really crack down on fentanyl which we must fight, i would have thought we had a good chance into that republicans would have left at thena opportunity to enact the bill into law by objective measure, it's a strong, it's necessary. so tomorrow we are laying out a clear choice. tomorrow we will see who is serious about wanting to fix the border and who is serious about

actually cracking down on fentanyl and of those who prefer to merely talk about it. i yield the floor. >> the senator from connecticut. tomorrow we are going to have a chance to come together republicans and democrats. to secure the border and make better sense of the immigration system. this is what the american people want us to do they don't elect us to post on social media or to argue. they elect us to solve problems. to my great gladness, there are republicans elected to solve this problem.th senator langford is one of them. senator sinema and independent. we sat in a room and negotiated a bipartisan compromise that

would allow us to get tougher on the southern border to make sure that only the right people are coming to the united states into those that have a c legitimate claim of asylum that would create a more efficient system. we were engaged in this process because republicans demanded and said we want you to pass bipartisan immigration reform and get to a result and a vote if you achieve the result. they selected to senator langford as the chosen negotiator. we achieved that. senator mcconnell was in the room for those negotiations. it was endorsed by some of the most conservative.

but i only got four republican votes and so i want to talk for just a minute about why that happened, what the bill does and why it's important that we have another vote this week. let's talk briefly about what this bill does. most importantly it fixes the broken immigration system, the asylum system in particular. it takes sometimes as long as ten years before you get the claim, that's not fair for the individual applying. it's not fair for others waitig outside of the country and to come to the united states. it's not fair for communities that ultimately have two howls and provide services for all those individuals waiting to apply so this bill fixes the system and takes that five or ten year wait down to weeks or

months and gives the president emergency authorities to close down portions of the border when the crossings get too high. you can't handle 10,000 at the border every day. we all know that. they saw that chaos at the end of last year. the bill says whether republican or democrat, the emergency authority during times of high crossings. it makes significantng investmes in combating fentanyl. we talk about the scourge of fentanyl. hundreds of people in my state, thousands across the country. significant new resources and stopping the flow of drugs across the border. 20 billion-dollar investment and much is targeted towards fentanyl and it takes a bunch of common sense to treat those coming to the united states in a more humane way.

you should have the right to a lawyer and we should provide a little bit of money for young kids, for each-years-old, eight-year-olds to have representation. it provides a pathway to citizenship for certain critical populations including afghans, including children. inside of this bill are a number of important reforms. the system makes more sense it's more effective and humane. the foundation of the bill is border security, making sure that we have a border that's manageable, that'sch not chaoti. i agree with my colleagues it does not do everything we need to do to reform the broken immigration system i want to make sure they have a chance to

stay here permanently, but this bill is a really important down payment. a really important down payment on border security and immigration reform. the question is why did it fail? why do they bill that had the support of senator langford, have the support of senator mcconnellpl fail? the answer - is simple. they told republicans to kill the bill. donald trump told republicans that their party would be better off if the border was a mess if nothing past because more would get elected this november if there were scenes of chaos at the border. so even though you've got a bipartisan border bill, kill it because politically it is better for republicans if the border is a mess. that's not my analysis.

that is literally what republicans have said on the record repeatedly. senator mcconnell said it himself. donald trump told us to do nothing. senator mcconnell didn't say donald trump told us to write a better bill. he said to donald trump told senate republicans do nothing so that's why we are here today because the american public wants us to pass bipartisan border security legislation. democrats want to pass bipartisan security legislation. but as far as i can tell, republicans do not because they want the border to be a mess. we will see tomorrow. we will have another chance. if this is an emergency like republicans say, then let's give it one more shot. and let me end with this because i do think it's important to just explore permanent why keeping this issue of

immigration unsolved, keeping the border chaotic is so important to republicans and in particular to donald trump. the reason is that making americans afraid of each other, turning us against each other is the centerpiece of donald trump's message and thus for this election at least the centerpiece of the republican platform. if you keep the border broken into the immigration system broken because it helps to breed and maintain resentment towards people that are different from you, just last month trump said this. immigrants are not human. they are animals.

if a major political figure said that 20 years ago. donald trump calls immigrants animals and says they are not human he says on a regular basis? i wish this weren't true i wish it were a foundational aspect to try to turn us against each other and try to make us afraid of people coming to this country just s to save their families lives. that's where we are. so republicans can complain that we are asking them to vote on a

bipartisan compromise endorsed by high-profile groups it is inconvenient for them for the border that is our job to come here into the broken border and immigration system is a problem. it's the biggest fix we have had ara chance to vote on in a generation, so yes we need to vote on this again. to choose the security of the country and fixing the problem that they identify instead of choosing to try to gain some political advantage in this election instead of choosing to double down on the strategy of