Whether it is a border you can walk across or a border you can launch a missile across, it is the responsibility of Congress and the President to protect our country from those who wish to harm the United States. The last administration drew lines in the sand with foreign countries and let them blow away over and over again.
Instead of negotiating failed nuclear deals with Iran, this week we advanced some of the toughest sanctions to date on countries like Russia, North Korea and Iran. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act punishes Russia for using the internet to attack vital components of our infrastructure and imposes catastrophic economic sanctions on Iran and North Korea for their support of terror organizations, continued antagonistic missile tests and their threats to bring terror and chaos to America. With this action, we are cutting off access to resources like fuel and food and sending a message to these countries that their continued behavior will not go unpunished and that all options remain on the table in response to their aggression.
Simply put, America should not stand idly by as foreign regimes threaten our freedoms and way of life. We should not tolerate continued nuclear advancements by North Korea and Iran and the detainment of members of the U.S. Navy by countries like Iran. I know Congress and this President will have the resolve to take the needed further actions should they be warranted.
The other security measure we voted for this week is the Make America Secure Appropriations Act which will help fortify our country’s southern border. We cannot leave our borders open to dangerous gangs like MS-13 whose members illegally enter our country while smuggling drugs, weapons and criminals.
This bill gives President Trump and his White House every penny they requested to shore up more than 70 miles of damaged and open border in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and San Diego, California and expand our border protections. The money will also be used for planning additional border wall construction and reinforcing the walls that are already protecting portions of the United States’ border with Mexico.
Making America secure at home and abroad is so incredibly important. Our work takes major steps to stop the bad guys abroad and fortify our borders at home, making sure we keep anyone who doesn’t have America’s best interest at heart from crossing both our physical and virtual borders.
