WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, yesterday delivered a speech on the Senate floor discussing the national security crisis at the southern border and provisions he offered in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would address the challenge.
In his remarks, Wicker noted that the crisis at the southern border has put the U.S. homeland at risk, as drug traffickers, extremists, and foreign spies take advantage of the lax security.
“Bad actors continue to exploit our porous southern border to funnel criminals, fentanyl, and even suspected terrorists into the country…it is clear that the situation is out of control,” Wicker said. “The Senate Armed Services Committee has received testimony suggesting that even our adversaries see our broken border as a strategic advantage. Russia certainly does. The former Northern Command (NORTHCOM) chief reports that there are more Kremlin agents in Mexico than in any other country. They are there because of the open border policies of this administration. The Chinese Communist Party is also aware of this vulnerability – constantly looking the other way as Chinese criminal elements sell fentanyl components to cartels, helping fuel our national drug crisis.”
Wicker, as lead Republican on the committee, included strong border provisions in the NDAA. In his speech, the senator mentioned his work on the FINISH IT Act, which would force the Biden administration to either restart construction of the border wall or sell unused materials to state governments.
“As we move through the conference process, we must retain the border provisions we fought so hard to include. One such measure is the FINISH IT Act. The legislation, which I authored, would continue construction of the border wall,” Wicker said. “The previous administration purchased high-quality steel wall panels. But when President Biden took office, he chose to spend $130,000 per day to store these materials rather than using them to secure the border. That amounts to tens of millions of dollars spent to do absolutely nothing, all while cartels continue to traffic drugs and people across our southwest border.”
Wicker also highlighted several measures in this year’s bill that would use Department of Defense resources to confront the cartels, including enhancing cooperation with Mexican security forces and using the military’s cutting-edge cyber capabilities.
“Other measures address the threat posed by cartels. These criminal gangs bribe law enforcement and terrorize the innocent. The cartels have military-grade tools, and they use them,” Wicker said. “Our bill unlocks resources that empower the Department of Defense to take the fight to these dangerous organizations.”
Read Senator Wicker’s speech as delivered below, or watch it here. Wicker recently wrote an op-ed for Fox News discussing the same topic. Read that here.
Today, I rise to address the crisis at our southern border. And to say that we have a good opportunity with the Senate-approved National Defense Authorization Act is a remarkable opportunity for this body to strengthen homeland security by increasing border security.
Mr. President, bad actors continue to exploit our porous southern border to funnel criminals, fentanyl, and even suspected terrorists into the country.
Just this week, Customs and Border Patrol released staggering figures. In this fiscal year, Border Patrol has handled nearly three million border encounters. Of urgent concern is the fact that more and more of those crossing are terror threats. In this fiscal year, 160 migrants were found to be on the terror watchlist, up from 100 in 2022.
A smuggler with ties to ISIS shepherded a dozen migrants from Uzbekistan across the border. This alarming incident raises questions about terrorists gaining access to our country. It also highlights the increasing number of asylum seekers from Central Asia.
Mr. President, the situation is clearly out of control.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has received testimony suggesting that even our adversaries see our broken border as a strategic advantage. Russia certainly does. The former Northern Command (NORTHCOM) chief reports that there are more Kremlin agents in Mexico than in any other country. They’re there because of the open border policies of this administration.
The Chinese Communist Party is also aware of this vulnerability – constantly looking the other way as Chinese criminal elements sell fentanyl components to cartels, helping fuel our national drug crisis.
President Biden refuses to act, but Congress will. The good news is that we have already taken steps to do so.
This summer, the Senate passed our version of the NDAA. We did so on an overwhelming bipartisan basis, Mr. President.
In my role as the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I led my colleagues as we crafted a defense bill that aligns with our current national defense needs.
The bill supports our troops and enhances our warfighting capabilities. The bill also recognizes the border as the national security challenge it is. And I note that more and more people on the mainstream media – on network news, on television, not just the cable shows – are calling this what it is: a border crisis.
In an impressive display of bipartisanship, the Senate passed our legislation with an overwhelming margin – 86 to 11. This sweeping endorsement puts the Senate in a strong negotiating position as the House and Senate reconcile the two defense bills in conference. And I certainly hope we can do that, and get it to the President soon.
As we move through the conference process, we must retain the border provisions we fought so hard to include.
One such measure is the FINISH IT Act. When we say “FINISH IT,” I mean the border wall. The legislation, which I authored, would continue construction of the border wall. The previous administration purchased high-quality steel wall panels.
But when President Biden took office, he chose to spend $130,000 per day to store these materials rather than using them to secure the border. The high-quality steel panels are there. Our President is spending money to store them, rather than use them for their intended purpose. That amounts to tens of millions of dollars spent to do absolutely nothing, all while cartels continue to traffic drugs and people across our southwest border.
The fact that we are spending taxpayer money to store these sections of the border wall, rather than erect them, is uncontested. It is a fact. And it’s one of the reasons that Senators visit the border – to find out things like this.
We on the Armed Services committee inquired about this waste. We found the administration to be hastily auctioning off the panels and doing so for pennies on the dollar – quite obviously an effort to circumvent congressional intent. The administration sees this administration coming, they see the overwhelming 86-11 vote, and they want to get as many of these sections of the wall auctioned off as government surplus before the legislation takes effect.
In one instance, the government sold $4.4 million worth of materials for a mere $156,000 – a 96 percent discount. $4.4 million in border wall segments, sold for only $156,000. Again, this is uncontested fact. The administration is also still unable to account for $255 million worth of materials.
The FINISH IT Act, which is in the NDAA, passed by the Senate, would compel the Biden administration either to use the existing border panels or sell them to states capable of building the wall themselves. Border states grasp the severity of this crisis in ways that the president dismisses.
Senate Republicans successfully shepherded this provision through the Democrat-led committee and secured wide bipartisan support from the Senate, as evidenced by the 86-11 vote. It is not difficult to discern why – under this administration, really every state is a border state. Just ask the Mayor of New York City, which used to like to be called a sanctuary city, he suddenly sounds almost as concerned as the Governor of Texas.
The FINISH IT Act represents just the first of several border security provisions in this year’s defense legislation. Other measures address the threat posed by cartels.
These criminal gangs bribe law enforcement and terrorize the innocent. The cartels have military-grade tools, and they use them. Our bill unlocks resources that empower the Department of Defense to take the fight to these dangerous organizations.
We passed a provision which would help strengthen Mexican security forces. It would establish a pilot program designed to provide top-tier U.S. military training to law enforcement in Mexico. This would enhance bilateral cooperation against threats, including cartels.
Another provision, Mr. President, helps confront cartels in cyberspace, and another improves coordination between defense, intelligence, and homeland security officials. These proposals harness the full array of U.S. technological and logistical capabilities to target work we can do from our side of the border.
The border crisis shows no sign of abatement. Illegal crossings continue to surge, and fentanyl’s devastating effects reach into more and more American neighborhoods, and into every state. What affects the border affects us all.
I am sure there will be a strong discussion as the House and Senate move to conference. There will, of course, be disagreements. Yet, I remain hopeful that the integrity of our borders can be an area of agreement.
We must take this opportunity to protect the homeland. We must pass this year’s National Defense Authorization Act with these hard-won border security measures.
