Press Releases
The Republican Recap: Week of June 24, 2024
Washington,
June 28, 2024
Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:
Securing Our Borders and Protecting Our Homeland ✅ Thanks to President Biden’s dangerous open border policies, our homeland is currently anything but secure. Under the Biden Administration, over 7.2 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States from more than 160 countries, including countries on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, who have not properly been vetted. At least 350 people on the terrorist watchlist have been caught attempting to illegally enter the U.S., posing a significant threat to our national security. American families are fed up with the Biden Administration’s consistent refusals to address the crisis at our southern border and the risks it poses to our national security. This week, we passed legislation that counters President Biden’s border crisis by providing $600 million for the construction of the border wall, investing in border security technology, forcing Secretary Mayorkas to adhere to U.S. border laws, and supporting 22,000 Border Patrol agents. Meanwhile, our legislation cuts out woke initiatives funded by taxpayer dollars to refocus our Department of Homeland Security on what really matters: Keeping the American people safe. The bill blocks critical race theory and the Department’s equity action plan from implementation, rejects funding for EVs, halts Biden Administration initiatives to increase illegal immigration, and prohibits funding for abortions or gender-affirming care for ICE detainees. H.R. 8752, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025, introduced by Rep. Mark Amodei, ensures our homeland is protected by increasing border security, providing for the removal of dangerous criminals, countering China and bolstering national security, supporting American values, and removing woke initiatives impeding the Department’s primary mission to promote American safety. “What is happening at our southern border is dangerous, inhumane, and untenable. The FY25 Homeland Security Appropriations Act invests in tried-and-true methods of securing our homeland that the men and women in the field are asking for – more agents, detention beds, and physical barriers. What it doesn’t do is fund the liberal priorities that further contribute to the chaos at our southern border. We need to change course on the border – not through gimmicks, but through real policy changes," said Rep. Mark Amodei. What Members Said: Rep. John Rutherford highlighted that H.R. 8752 secures our border, funds detention beds, removes dangerous criminals and illegal aliens, counters adversaries like China, and protects our coastal waters.
 Rep. Dale Strong pointed out that H.R. 8752 provides record funding for DHS custody operations and $600 million to build the southern border wall.
 Deterring America’s Adversaries and Supporting Our Allies ✅ Across the globe, America’s adversaries grow bolder in their assaults on democracy and freedom, attacking our allies and threatening the United States. To strengthen our national security and position as world leader, as well as promote global security, we must ensure our allies are supported and our adversaries are deterred. House Republicans passed legislation that reaffirms American leadership on the world stage and supports our allies, such as by providing Foreign Military Financing for Israel’s defense, barring any funding for the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry against Israel, and strengthening deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Additionally, our bill confronts our adversaries, including China, Iran, and Hamas, such as by prohibiting providing funds, loans, or repayments of debt to the Chinese Communist Party and banning the removal of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps from the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list. This legislation would also reinforce American values globally by supporting religious freedom programs abroad, prohibiting “disinformation” or “misinformation” programs that violate free speech rights, increasing accountability at world organizations, and supporting freedom in the Western Hemisphere. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s legislation, H.R. 8771, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025, reaffirms American leadership by combatting our adversaries, supporting our allies, promoting American values here and abroad, and prioritizing our national security, while cutting funds to wasteful climate initiatives and bureaucratic world organizations and refocusing our taxpayer dollars on actually protecting Americans and our allies. “I am very pleased with the House's approval of the State and Foreign Operations bill for the fiscal year 2025 which builds on the policy wins of the fiscal year 2024 enacted bill. This crucial piece of legislation, which funds our national security and foreign policy priorities, safeguards hard-earned American taxpayer dollars while upholding key U.S. values. Among the many victories, we achieved a 19% reduction from the President's Budget, and an 11% cut from fiscal year 2024 enacted levels. “This legislation continues to reestablish American leadership where it has been severely lacking under the Biden Administration. It upholds key U.S. national security priorities by supporting allies such as Israel and Taiwan and countering adversaries such as Communist China, the terrorist states of Iran and Cuba, and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. “House Republicans are cutting wasteful spending while fulfilling our national security commitments with the passage of the State and Foreign Operations funding bill for fiscal year 2025. This bill will advance global freedom, manifest strong solidarity with our allies, and stand firm against the malign forces undermining U.S. national security,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart. What Members Said: Rep. Jerry Carl celebrated the passage of H.R. 8771 and noted how the bill strengthens our national security and counters China's influence while using taxpayer dollars responsibly.  The House Appropriations Committee emphasized that H.R. 8771 will manifest strong solidarity with our allies, stand firm against our adversaries, and advance global freedom. 
Ensuring the Strong Defense of Americans and American Interests ✅ A strong military deters conflict, promotes the safety of the American people, and protects our national interests. As threats to our nation continue to rise from foreign adversaries and at the border, we must ensure that the men and women defending our freedom and way of life have everything they need to meet these new challenges. This week, House Republicans passed legislation that provides our military with the resources it needs to deter our adversaries or defeat them, bolsters the Department of Defense's role in combatting the deadly flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, increases support for servicemembers and their families, and promotes innovation and modernization. America’s servicemembers are the backbone of the U.S. military – our plan for funding the Department of Defense (DOD) includes a pay raise for our military and a historic pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers, as they are the reason our freedom endures. We also make sure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly by redirecting funds from the Biden Administration’s wasteful woke agenda to what really matters: Addressing the needs of our military, combatting adversaries, and keeping Americans safe. We cut and prohibit funding for climate initiatives; diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; gender reassignment surgeries; and critical race theory, while providing funds for Israeli defense programs, drug interdiction and counterdrug activities, defense innovation efforts, and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert, strengthens America’s defense by prioritizing countering the CCP, investing in innovation in our military, supporting our servicemembers and their families, combatting the flow of fentanyl, promoting American values, and ensuring the Department is focused on its primary duty to keep our people safe. “I am proud of this year’s defense appropriations bill, which adheres to the fiscal constraints of the Fiscal Responsibility Act while providing a strong military to defend America, our allies, and partners. As Chairman of the Defense Subcommittee, the FY25 bill continues my focus on deterring China’s aggression with strategic investments in the Pacific, promoting innovation and modernization, optimizing the Pentagon’s civilian workforce, increasing the Department’s role in countering the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., and supporting our close ally, Israel. There’s no greater responsibility than supporting our servicemembers and their families, which is why the bill includes a 4.5% pay raise for all military personnel, plus $2.5 billion towards an additional 15% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers. This bill procures where we can, trains where we must, and invests in capabilities that will make our adversaries wake up every day and say, ‘today is not the day to provoke the United States of America,’” said Rep. Ken Calvert. What Members Said: “We must remember that the goal of the military is to deter a war, and if unable to deter a war, to win a war. And today, especially, the pacing threat is China. This bill does just that. It helps us not only accelerate programs, but keep pace with China in a budget constrained environment of only $833 billion. We are trying to gain efficiency so that it behaves like $1 trillion and it supports all the weapons systems from high to low, B-21s, supporting and protecting U-2 classified programs, and in my opinion, the most important thing, a 20 percent pay raise for E-1s through E-4,” said Rep. Mike Garcia. Rep. Brett Guthrie highlighted that H.R. 8774 redirects funding from President Biden's misguided climate and DEI priorities to better support servicemembers and refocuses the Pentagon on it's key mission to ensure our national security.  ### |
