He's come up with here today when, when heed senator is sworn in to office, we take a fundamental pledge to support and defend the constitution of the United States. That vow that we support. The constitution days back to the very first Congress in 17 eighty nine defending the constitution is our first and formal sacred duty the founders built a system of checks and balances into our constitution. They made sure that three branches of government exercise their own separate powers and they made sure that no one branch no one person could exercise too much power, especially over the use of taxpayer money. The founders gave Congress the power of the purse one of our most fundamental powers. Article one section, nine of the constitution could not be more clear quote No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law, Congress holds the power to spend taxpayer money not the President, it is our job to make sure that spending decisions have widespread public support and are not the product of acts of of an extreme minority much less one man or one woman. We all know that the President wants a Wall. We just had a major debate about border security funding the President shut The government for 35 days because Congress refused his Wall request eventually. He relented, but now he's declared a emergency to simply try and take the money that he couldn't get from the appropriations process. He said and I quote, I don't even have to do this in quote, he flaunted the fact that this is not a real emergency the President is testing the limits of executive power the question before The Senate today is, are we going to let this happen or are we going to open pandora's box. What about article one of the constitution. What about the 35 day government shutdown. What about presidential budget request and what about the appropriations Committee are we really going to let the President trade taxpayer money after Congress denies the request the opposition Power grab is bipartisan as it should be among the American people. The numbers are overwhelming. Madam President, almost 70 percent of the American people oppose the president's emergency declaration to raid taxpayer money for the Wall. That's almost 70 percent. My fellow senators it's time for the Senate to do its job. It's time for us to assert our authority over the purse it's time for us to honor our oath of office. Every senator Should vote yes on the resolution to terminate the president's emergency declaration and I want to thank my Co sponsors in this effort. I mentioned senator collins earlier who's on the floor with me and will speak after me. Senator Mark caskey senator shaheen I know that senator collins is on the floor again to urge us to do the right thing to stand up for congress's authority. This vote is historic. The constitutional principle of separation of powers is at stake if the Senate enabled the President to hijack our power to appropriate history will not remember us fondly this photo is not about the wisdom of building the Wall along the border. This vote is not about party this Vote is about whether we will let any President trample on the constitution, whether we will sit by and let the President take away our constitutional authority to appropriate. I rise today. Hopeful, hopeful that my Republican colleagues will speak up in addition to senator collins and senator murk ascii sent senator tillis stated firmly in a recent opinion piece. I support trump's vision on border security but I would vote against the emergency. Why does he say He would vote against the emergency declaration because he says and I quote from senator tells here as a senator, I cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress, former governor casing authored, an opinion piece recently titled it's time for Republicans in the Congress to put country over party. He States let's be clear. This vote is not about the situation at the border. It's about an executive power grab and, above all, congressional respect for the Democratic process and I couldn't agree more Governor casey and I would like to enter the full pieces by senator tillis and governor kay sick in the record and would ask consent to do that. Madam President, without objection, thank you to get this uh Wall money. The President caused the longest government shutdown in the history of our nation the shutdown caused hardship for millions of federal employees and lasting pain for thousands of federal contractors, not to mention the millions of Americans who are denied services for 35 days services. They paid for with their tax dollars. I visit With new mexicans hurt by the shutdown and uh, it was very, very painful to hear their stories in the end Congress decided on a bipartisan basis, not to spend the five point seven billion dollars. The President demanded for his Wall. He got one point. Three billion I didn't want to see that much and I wanted to see more restrictions as to specifically what it was going to be spent for, but it was a hard fought compromise and a deals that deal Congress has to Nation should have ended the debate for this fiscal year. The year that we're in and now the President is asking Congress for eight point six billion dollars for the border Wall next year. That is his prerogative, but make no mistake. It is not only congress's prerogative, it is congress's constitutional responsibility to decide if he gets that money as the old saying goes, the President proposes and Congress to President trump is being treated no differently than all previous presidents that is how our constitutional system works or at least how it's supposed to work. The president's emergency declaration is an end run around Congress plain and simple. If any Democratic President issued an emergency declaration like this say for climate change or gun safety funding Republicans in this body would scream bloody murder and vote to disapprove now. I'm on The climate change is one of the most pressing issues on our planet and I'm on record that gun violence is a National crisis, but I have voted for and proposed actual legislation on these topics as our system is supposed to work. No previous President has used the National emergency act to bypass the appropriations process like this, our constitution the rule of law, separation of powers, all of these raw Far above the day today controversies like the president's border Wall on a practical note, the President wants to take real money away from real military construction projects, projects that will have a real impact on National security, military construction projects that have been vetted through the through years of scrutiny through the military through numerous congressional committees in Congress projects deemed essential to the National security projects. all Across the nation in your States now, at risk, we have a long list of military construction projects threatened by the President. Yet he has not bothered to tell us which projects will be cut to build his Wall. Will he raids 700 and 93 million dollars to rebuild camp Le June in North Carolina after the devastation from hurricane florence really steal update hundred million dollars for Navy ship maintenance to make sure that accidents like what happened to the Uss Mccain and uss fitzgerald never happen again. Well, he raised a hundred and 25 million dollars from my home state of new Mexico for holloman air force base to develop unmanned aerial vehicles to track terrorists and for White sands missile range to build a badly needed information systems facility. The answer is we don't know but these critical projects and all of our States are at risk. We each need Think about our States and the people we were sent here to represent I am from one of the four States that border Mexico, one of the four States that would be the most directly impacted by any border Wall and I'm here to tell you there is no National security emergency along my state's border with Mexico. What is happening at our border does not justify the use of this authority. New mexico's border communities are flourishing with economic, cultural and educational activity, border communities Are as safe or safer than others in the interior. This is not a partisan view along the border Republican will hurd represents more than 500 miles of the Texas border with Mexico. He not only believes the president's emergency declaration is unconstitutional. He thinks the president's Wall as, quote the most expensive and least effective way to do border security but again when Support or oppose the border Wall is not an issue. What is that issue is our oath to support and defend the constitution, whether any President can toss Congress aside and raid critical funds at will. We have an opportunity to stand up to an unconstitutional power grab. I urge everyone in this chamber to seize that opportunity and with this I would yield to senator collins to uh from the beginning, has worked with me and we have our resolution in uh and we're working Hard to make sure that we stand up to the constitution, a yield the floor. Mr President, I recognize the senator from maine. Thank you, mister President, mister President, later today the Senate will make a significant decision with implications for our constitutional system of government. We will vote on a resolution to reverse the