Udall: “The president’s declaration of a national emergency is an end run around Congress’s power to appropriate, plain and simple”
VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/senatortomudall/videos/270760850475977/
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) , spoke on the Senate floor to announce the introduction of a bipartisan joint resolution to block President Trump’s national emergency declaration. In his remarks, Udall urged his colleagues to unite together to support the resolution and stand up for the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution.
On February 15, the president declared a national emergency at the southern border in an attempt to divert critical funding set aside for military construction and other projects toward a border wall -- despite the fact that Congress alone holds the “power of the purse,” to appropriate taxpayer funds. The joint resolution introduced today by the senators would terminate the national emergency declaration and uphold the separation of powers.
“The vote we will take on this resolution is historic,” Udall said . “This is no longer about the president’s wall. This is not about party. This is about protecting the very heart of our American system of governance. Congress – and only Congress — holds the power of the purse… The president’s declaration of a national emergency is an end run around Congress’s power to appropriate, plain and simple.” Udall pointed out the serious implications of the declaration, noting that it would allow the Trump administration to raid billions of dollars from the Department of Defense’s military construction budget in an attempt to “overrule Congress by fiat” in order to build a border wall – an unprecedented use of the National Emergencies Act.
As a border state senator, Udall also emphasized that the president’s emergency declaration isn’t based in reality, and doesn’t match the facts on the ground. “I am from one of the four states that border Mexico. One of the four states that will be most directly affected by a wall. I know for an absolute fact that there is no national security emergency along my state’s border with Mexico. Quite the opposite. New Mexico’s border communities are thriving. International commerce is thriving. Our multicultural communities are thriving. Our crime rates are low,” Udall noted.
Udall concluded , “ It is imperative that all of us – Republican and Democrat – protect and defend our Constitution. That we protect and defend the checks and balances that unequivocally place the power of the purse with Congress. That we affirm our powers – powers that are separate from the president’s. Our oath is to uphold the Constitution. And the Constitution is clear… I will vote to terminate the president’s declaration of a national emergency to build his wall. And I urge everyone in this chamber to protect our constitutional prerogative, and to do so as well.”
The full text of Udall’s remarks is attached HERE .
