CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN DEMANDS SPEAKER JOHNSON BRING BIPARTISAN BORDER SECURITY BILL TO VOTE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Congressman Pat Ryan Demands Speaker Johnson Bring Bipartisan Border Security Bill to Vote in House of Representatives
Bill would strengthen border security and provide critical funding for American allies amidst existential fights for democracy
Ryan: “Mike Johnson and Elise Stefanik would rather use immigration for political gain than take action to actually fix the problem”
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Congressman Pat Ryan slammed the two for what he calls “the most cynical and disappointing display of partisanship” he’s seen in Congress, and demanded they immediately bring the bipartisan supplemental funding bill to a vote in the House of Representatives. The bill includes funding to significantly bolster border security, the most comprehensive immigration reform in decades, and critical support to United States allies in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
“We have a crisis at the border, and the American people are counting on us to deliver. That’s why I was encouraged when Democrats and Republicans came together to draft a bill that both secures our border and provides critical support for our allies in their time of need. I strongly support this bill, and am confident if it came up for a vote, it would pass with wide bipartisan support. But rather than taking action to actually fix the problem, the far-right House leadership under Mike Johnson and Elise Stefanik would rather use immigration to score political points – refusing to hold a vote simply because Donald Trump benefits politically by perpetuating the problem,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “It’s cynical, disappointing, and everything that’s wrong with American politics. It’s time to come together as Patriots, put country ahead of party, and deliver for the Hudson Valley.”
“Johnson’s refusal to allow a vote on this bill not only undercuts border security at home, it emboldens our adversaries abroad. Authoritarian dictators from Moscow to Tehran to Beijing are celebrating,” continued Congressman Ryan. “At the very moment we need to show unity and strength, we’re hanging our allies in Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan out to dry. In the case of Ukraine, we are mere months away from Russian tanks rolling through Kiev and slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainian women and children, all because Donald Trump is more loyal to Putin than our own democratic allies. I don’t know how these MAGA extremists can look at themselves in the mirror knowing what this will cause.”
A copy of Ryan’s letter to Speaker Johnson and Conference Chair Stefanik appears below:
Dear Speaker Johnson and Conference Chair Stefanik,
I write to urge you to bring the critical, bipartisan, Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act to the House Floor, in the face of a crisis at the border, war and accompanying uptick of violence in the Middle East, a land war in Europe, and increasing aggression of the Chinese Communist Party. Now more than ever, we must strongly support our allies and partners.
I’ve been clear since day one: we have a crisis at the border, and we need all hands on deck to fix it. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle and I have repeatedly called for bipartisan solutions to meaningfully address the challenges presented by increased migration, the backlog of visa applications and asylum cases in our immigration courts, and the flow of illicit fentanyl through our ports of entry. Your refusal to bring the national security supplemental to the floor is the most cynical and disappointing display of partisanship I’ve seen in my time in Congress.
If you were actually serious about addressing the crisis at the southern border, you’d join me in supporting the legislation, which will hire over 1,500 new U.S. Customer and Border Protection personnel, over 4,300 new Asylum Officers and additional U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Staff, in addition to 100 new immigration judge teams, and 1,200 new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. Additionally, the legislation includes provisions that expedite work permits so that immigrants can immediately get to work upon arrival, and the creation of expedited processing and removal of those who don’t qualify for asylum. Also of particular note, the legislation would halt the flow of fentanyl to the southern border at a time when it is devastating our local communities. It’s absolutely clear to me, as it should be to you, that each of these provisions will help to secure our border and protect the American people.
Moreover, at this very moment the United States and our armed forces face a myriad of threats from across the globe, threats that put our men and women in uniform in harm’s way, and put our allies and partners at grave risk. In addition to $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel in their critical fight against Hamas, the Senate emergency national security supplemental also includes $10 billion of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza and those in other conflict zones.
As you well know, the unrest around the world doesn’t stop in the Middle East. In an effort to respond to a dynamic and deeply troubling threat landscape, the legislation includes $60 billion of support for the Ukrainian people as they fight to defend their homeland and the very notion of democracy itself against Putin’s deranged expansionist fantasies, while also working to replenish our arsenal of democracy. Additionally, the bipartisan Senate deal includes funding to ensure that Taiwan can continue to stand in the face of China’s increasing aggression, as the United States and key regional partners in the Indo-Pacific work to check the growing influence of the CCP.
Each of these steps help to ensure that our allies and partners, in addition to those state and nonstate actors who threaten democracy and our way of life, know exactly where our values and priorities lie. Dangerously putting partisan politics ahead of our national security emboldens our adversaries—from Moscow to Tehran to Beijing—right at the moment when we need to show unity and strength.
We respectfully urge you to prioritize the American people and our nation’s security by showing leadership in this dire moment in American history and bring this bill for consideration by the House of Representatives. I stand in support of the Senate deal, as negotiated by a bipartisan group of our colleagues.
My constituents have had enough with the partisan chaos and division – it’s time to come together as Patriots put our national and global security ahead of political games and deliver.
Sincerely,
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