Washington, D.C. — Before voting no on a national security spending package that did not include provisions to secure the southern border, Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) spoke on the Senate floor and laid out why he opposed the bill, and his view on the path forward.
Watch the full speech:
Key excerpts:
“We are currently facing the worst border crisis in U.S. history. We’re feeling the consequences of this crisis all over the country.”
“Senator Lankford did the best he could considering the ideologies of those he was negotiating with. But unfortunately, Senate Democrats are still beholden to progressive ideologies and ideologues who believe in open borders.”
“At the same time, the threats we face on the world stage demand our attention as well. We have an opportunity to rebuild the arsenal of democracy, make significant investments in our national defense, and prepare ourselves for the threat from the Chinese Communist Party.”
“If we let our own defense atrophy, and we leave our allies high and dry, forces of evil and instability will be even more emboldened and our world will become even more dangerous. Remember, it is American strength that deters aggression and weakness that provokes it.”
“In order to be a strong nation, we first have to be strong here at home. We must secure our own border before we can help other countries protect theirs.”
“At one of my recent telephone town halls, I asked a poll question to the thousands of people on the call: I asked: ‘If you could be assured that the southern border was secure, then would you support sending support to our allies and partners?’ Roughly two thirds of the respondents said yes.”
“Most folks aren’t opposed to helping our friends, they just think we need to take care of our country first. America First does not have to mean America only.”
“The truth is that this entire process is not working. The only viable path forward is for Congress to force President Biden to get serious about border security, and then for the American people to see the situation at the border start to get better. Until that happens, we find ourselves locked in stalemate as the world burns. We cannot accept this. Yeah, we want to help our allies and partners, but to keep our nation strong, we must always put America first.”
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