Over three years of Biden Administration foreign policy has led to national security crisis after crisis. First, the Biden Administration has provided worse than absentee leadership on our immigration system and border security policy. They have actively exacerbated the problems, resulting in one of the worst humanitarian and national security crises seen at the southern border in U.S. history. The president’s lack of leadership on the world stage has also contributed to several global catastrophes, including in Afghanistan, Ukraine and maritime disruption and violence in the Middle East.
The current president has managed our security from a position of America last. His disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which included the loss of 13 American service members, signaled to our adversaries around the globe that further aggression will be tolerated. Now, Afghanistan has been retaken by the Taliban, a brutal terrorist organization the U.S. spent two decades trying to eliminate. Since then, we have seen Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine. This war has been the largest in Europe since World War II. We have also seen the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea grow increasingly aggressive toward our allies and partners in the western Pacific.
Most recently, last October we saw Hamas’ invasion of Israel and the deadliest attack seen in 15 years, further destabilizing the Middle East. The president’s current Iranian policy certainly has emboldened terrorist organizations including Hamas. In fact, last week three U.S. service members were tragically killed in a drone attack in Jordan initiated by an Iranian-backed militia group. Since the Israel invasion, there have been a total of 166 attacks on U.S. military installations, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria, and now one in Jordan. Unfortunately, the president has yet to put forward a clear plan for a response.
This increase in terrorism in the Middle East coupled with our country’s open southern and northern borders also presents a new challenge for our country. On numerous occasions, known terrorists have attempted to enter our country through the open southern and northern borders. And since President Biden took office, 361 of these individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist have been apprehended attempting to cross the southern border illegally. We should know who is entering our country, but unfortunately the president has only tied the hands of border patrol and has allowed disorder to prevail.
Furthermore, record border crossings for the past three years, unfettered by the Biden Administration’s open-border policies, have led to more deadly drugs such as fentanyl and more bad actors such as suspected terrorists and human traffickers seeping into the United States than at any point in our history. The chaos at the southern border has become a national security and humanitarian crisis that must be addressed.
With respect to our national security more broadly, the legislative process serves as a tool to enact the policies and funding levels necessary for a safe nation for all of our citizens. The Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024 would deliver full, needed funding for our nation’s defenders. In today’s dangerous world, we must prioritize significant investments in capabilities in the Pacific region to deter aggression from China and North Korea. We should also reject progressive ideology agendas to ensure the Pentagon is laser focused on military readiness and warfighting capabilities. the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024 would address the border crisis by providing funding to secure our border and remove dangerous criminals and detainees unlawfully in our country, but the Senate and White House must also agree to significant strengthening of law and policy to make enforcement effective and workable.
House Republicans are committed to ensuring a safe nation, both from within and around the globe. We must pursue strong posture as a nation to restore our borders and ensure the Pentagon and our men and women in uniform are a ready, lethal fighting force.
