Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of Defense Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to emphasize the importance of the appropriations bills before us.

H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, funds a 19.5 percent pay raise for our troops. I was honored to be on the Quality of Life Panel under the direction of General Don Bacon. Look, our troops need this raise. It is long overdue. It ensures combat readiness. It modernizes our military to face future challenges.

Critically, for my district, which is home to Whiteman Air Force Base, this legislation ensures that we fully fund the B-2 mission, keeping it lethal and ready against China, and the B-21 program that is now being built out in Palmdale, California. It will also support the much-needed modernization of our nuclear triad, Mr. Speaker.

H.R. 8752, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025, is crucial and critical for securing our southern border, enhancing national security, and countering threats from Communist China. It provides substantial funding for Border Patrol agents, border security technology, and physical barriers, all while rejecting wasteful spending and unnecessary programs.

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be some confusion on the other side about the Republicans' desire to secure the border. Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker, we made our voices known, the voices of our constituents, that we want a secure border. That is why, more than a year ago, we passed H.R. 2, the Secure Border Act of 2023.

It has been sitting across the hallway here on Chuck Schumer's desk since May of last year. They have done nothing with it.

It would restore remain in Mexico. It would end the catch and release program. It would finish the wall. It would keep out the rapists, the killers, the drug dealers, and the people who are terrorizing our very citizens all because of this administration throwing the doors wide open and welcoming people who do not belong in our Nation.

I am tired of the gaslighting, Mr. Speaker. I am tired of the lies to the American people, the deception, the obfuscation. Secure the border now.

These bills are vital for maintaining America's security and advancing our strategic interests.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support these appropriations bills.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask my friend and colleague from Colorado if he has additional speakers or if he is prepared to close.

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