Call on this body to defend the constitution to protect the separation of powers and to safeguard congress's role as a Co equal branch of government. Today, I'm introducing a bipartisan resolution with my Senate colleagues to do to terminate the president's declaration of a National emergency to build his border Wall. My partners in this effort includes senator collins, who is here with me today and will be here momentarily also partners Senator mccaskill and senator machine senator shaheen and I just want to say to senator collins and I commend her on her principal stance and on standing up for the constitution. The vote we will take on this resolution is historic. This is no longer about the presidents Wall. This is not about party this is not about protecting the very heart of our American system. This, this It's about protecting the very heart of our American system of governance, Congress and only Congress holds the power of the purse article one section, nine of the constitution clearly States no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law, constitution is absolutely clear. Congress has power to make spending decisions is very clear There is no ambiguity deciding how to spend public funds is among our most fundamental powers and responsibilities under the constitution. The founders gave this power to the legislative body, not the executive to ensure there is a broad support for how public funds are spent. Consequential and far reaching decisions about spending taxpayer money are not left to one person, not even the President. This body has Rejected the president's request to give him five point seven billion dollars for his Wall along the southern border with Mexico on February fourteenth, not two weeks ago, we passed the consolidated appropriations act of 20 19 by a vote of eighty three to 16 that compromise bill did not include the five point seven billion the President wanted to build his Wall now, whether I believe Congress should fund the president's Wall is not an issue. This is a question about the strength of the rule of law in this country about the separation of powers which forms the foundation of our American government. The president's declaration of a National emergency is an end run around Congress has power to appropriate plain and simple to quote senator collins the President is usurping congressional authority. We are the Rep That's of the people that people do not want to spend five point seven billion dollars on the president's Wall and we must protect their will and let's be clear. This emergency declaration has serious implications for States all across our country to build this Wall the White House will raid three point six billion dollars from the Department of defense military construction budget and two point five Dollars from that department's drug interdiction program, but the White House apparently failed to realize there are only about eighty million dollars in the drug. Interdiction. That count so we should be prepared for a raid on other accounts or taking even more from military construction funding. These are military construction funds that Congress already has appropriated for specific projects necessary to The National security priorities of the United States I am privileged to serve on the appropriations Committee. I understand the hard and careful work that goes into these funding decisions for my home state of new Mexico Congress allocated some eighty five million dollars to construct a formal training unit at holloman air force base in the South Central part of new Mexico for unmanned aerial vehicles. This investment in Technology tracks, terrace and protects our National security. We allocated 40 million dollars to White sands missile range to build an information systems facility badly needed for next generation. Research and development activities at the range, both these projects were vetted over several years and deemed important to our National security. The Mexico is not alone. Many States. Miller Bases and regional economies will be impacted. Colorado for example, is at risk of losing almost 100 million dollars for construction projects at Fort carson near Colorado springs Ohio risks. 61 million dollars for the first installment for building at the National air and space intelligence Center at Wright patterson air force base military construction projects totaling 200 and 10 million dollars are at risk and Florida 500 and 20 million in Texas and d one million in utah and the list goes on and on projects in every corner of the country will be impacted according to the 19 76 Senate report from the National emergencies act. The president's emergency power may quote, be utilized only when actual emergencies exist and I'm here to tell A border senator there is no actual National security emergency at our southern border necessitating a massive Wall along the southern border as this body has already determined this is a matter where the President and Congress have disagreed and the President is trying to over rule Congress by fiat. It bipartisan group of 58 former National security officials are sounding the alarm. They ride in Under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a National emergency today that entitles the President to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a Wall at the southern border, the evidence speaks for itself. The number of border apprehensions has decreased dramatically since the early two thousands southern border apprehensions have dropped eighty one percent the number of At the end of fiscal year 20 17 was the lowest it's been since 19 70 18 46 year low. We have the lowest number of undocumented immigrants in our country. That we've had in over a decade. The pew research Center estimated recently the total number of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States is far last now than two thousand and four that is a 14 year low and more people emigrate to Mexico from the United States than immigrate from Mexico. Here that's right. We have a negative net migration rate with Mexico I'm one of the four States that border Mexico, one of the four States that will be the most directly affected by a Wall. I know for an absolute fact. There is no National security emergency along my state's border with Mexico. Quite the opposite new mexico's border communities are thriving international Commerce is thriving. Our multicultural communities are thriving. Our crime rates are low. A Wall like the President wants would be disastrous for a state like new Mexico. It will seize away private property, carve up family ranches farms and homestead zzz. It will harm the beautiful, but fragile environment. They're on the border, but again whether you support the president's Wall is not an issue on this vote. As senator tillis put it in an op ed in the Washington post. I support President trump's vision on the on border security, but I would vote Against an emergency And then, other sitting Republican senator recently said and I quote Congress has been ceding far too much power to the executive branch for decades. We should use this moment as an opportunity to start taking power back Over 20 former Republican senators and representatives were compelled to pen, a letter opposing them or the emergency declaration and they stay. It has always been a Republican fundamental principle that no matter how strong our policy preferences no matter. How deep our loyalties to presidents or party leaders in order to remain a constitutional Republic, we must act within the borders of the constitution that I'm Act is now litigation has been filed, but Congress should resolve the issue of our own constitutional authority and not wait for the courts. Let me let me repeat the vote. We will take will be historic. It is imperative that all of us Republican and Democrat protect and defend our constitution that we protect and defend the checks and balances that unequivocally placed the power of the purse with Congress that we affirm Powers powers that are separate from the president's our old, is to uphold the constitution and the constitution is clear. The constitution does not empower the President to raid money by decree just because Congress has already said no. I will vote to terminate the president's declaration of a National emergency to build his Wall and I will urge everyone in this chamber to protect our constitutional prerogative and to do so as well and with that I would Floor, Mr President Recognize, senator from maine. Thank you, mister President, mister President, I rise today to speak on the resolution that I am joining senator. You dahl, introducing it would reverse the president's ill advised decision to declare a National emergency and common tear funding provided for other purposes by Congress and instead redirected to construct a Wall on our Southern border, I want to thank senator you'd Al for his leadership and also recognize the support that we have received from our Co sponsors, senator murk cow ski and senator shipping. Mr President, let me be clear. The question before us is not whether to support or oppose the Wall. It is Not whether to support or oppose President trump rather, it is this. Do we want the executive branch now or in the future, to hold the power that the founders deliberately entrusted to Congress. It has been said that Congress is most precious power is the power in the purse set out in plain language in article one section nine Of our constitution, it reads as follows. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law. Alexander hamilton in federalist 70 to make clear the founders view that only the legislative branch commands as pet business power, not the judiciary, not the executive James mattis In federalist 58 called the power of the purse, the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the representatives of the people, Congress is power, was jealously guarded in the early days of our Republic. No less than authority on our constitutional framework. Then Supreme court Justice, Joseph story in his famous commentaries so explain that if it were otherwise the executive Possess an unbounded power over the public purse at the nation and might apply all of its money and resources at his pleasure. Mr President, throughout our history, the courts have consistently held that quote only Congress is sim powered by the constitution to adopt laws directing moneys to be spent from the us Treasury in quote, I Support strongly support protecting the institutional prerogatives of the United States Senate and the system of checks and balances that is Central to the structure of our government. Mister President, I support funding for better border security, including physical barriers where they make sense. I understand That the President is disappointed that the funding he requested did not pass, but the failure of Congress to pass funding in the amount the President prefers cannot become an excuse for the President to usurp the powers of the executive branch. This is not the first time that I have made this argument against executive overreach in 20 15 I authored the immigration rule of law act. Legislation that would have provided a statutory basis for the dreamer population while rolling back President obama's 20 14 executive orders expanding that program as I explained at the time, even though I supported comprehensive immigration reform and was disappointed that it had not passed, I rejected the notion that its failure could Serve as suggested vacation for President Obama to implement by executive fear that which Congress had refused to pass regardless of the wisdom of congress's decision. I would now like to turn to a discussion of the National emergencies act. This act was passed in 19 76 to standardize the process by which the President can invoke National emergency powers and Congress can terminate the declaration through a joint resolution such as the one we are introducing today. The act is pricy general in nature. It lays out the process. The President must follow to declare a National emergency, but does not provide the President with any additional powers. Instead of requires the President to specify where, in existing law he has Granted the authority for the power see intends to exercise by itself the National emergencies act. Does not give the President the power to repurpose billions of dollars to build a Wall. The President must look outs we're for that authority in his declaration. The President cites the authority provided by titled 10 section 28 Oh, eight of the us quote which relates to constitute construction authority in the event of a declaration of war or National emergency, but Mr President, that authorization applies only to military construction projects that are quote necessary to support the use of the armed forces in quote, I do not believe that this provision can be fairly Red to bootstrap the presence of troops along the southern border into the authority to build a Wall, as a mill, Construction project the question isn't whether the President can act in an emergency, but whether he can do so in a manner that would undermine the congressional power of the purse here. I think we need a better understanding of what you qualify as an emergency one place. We could turn is to Park test originally developed by the office of management and budget in 19 91 under former President George herbert Walker. Bush to determine whether the requested funding merited an emergency designation under our budget rules under that test a spending request was designated as an emergency. Only if All five of the following conditions were met. First expenditures had to be necessary. Second, the need had to be sudden coming into being quickly, not building up overtime. Third, the need had to be urgent. Fourth, the need had to be unforeseen and fifth the knee Not be permanent, I racist test only by way of analogy but it is fair to say that, whether or not you agree with the President that more should be done to secure the southern border and I do agree with the president's gold. His decision to fund a border Wall through a National emergency declaration would not pass this five part test the President Ration also has practical implications for the military construction appropriations process as my colleague has pointed out last year in testimony before the appropriations Committee, the Department of defense said that the president's budget request for military construction funding was crucial to support our National defense, including construction projects to improve Terry readiness and increase the leaf Al a t of the force. This includes missile defense, improved facilities in Europe to deter Russian aggression and infrastructure to operational lies the F. 35 stealth fighter. This also included several important efforts at the portsmouth naval shipyard in maine that are vital to the Navy Acting timely maintenance and refueling of our nation's submarines, shifting funding away from these vital projects is shortsighted and could have very, very real National security implications. Mr President, we must defend congress's institutional powers as the Hoped we would even when doing so is inconvenient or goes against the outcome. We might prefer the gridlock. We have experienced on difficult issues like border security and immigration reform is not simply a failure to get our work done, but a reflection of the fact that we have yet to reach a consensus The president's emergency declaration is image. Pies precisely because it attempts to shortcut the process of checks and balances by usurping congress's authority. This resolution blocks that overreach and I hope that, regardless of our Its position on the construction of a border Wall that we will join together to a serve, congress's constitutional authority in the appropriations process. I urge our colleagues to imply to support this important resolution. Thank you, Mr Violence would you yield, I would be happy. I just want to say because you we've all been here for a bit talking on the floor about this. I want to thank you for standing up for principle. I want to thank you for standing up for our constitution uh it's a real honor to join you uh in this resolution of disapproval and I also like you, just did want to thank the two other senators who are joining us, senator Marco asking senator machine senator shaheen so Thank you very much appreciate it and I yield Mr I would thank the senator for his gracious comments. As always it's been a great pleasure to work with him and I know he cares deeply about the constitutional principle that brings us to the floor today. Let us defend the constitution. Thank you. Mister President Mister President, I would yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum The clerk will call the roll Strong Alexander