Rep. Gary Palmer
U.S. House of Representatives
If you had to make a choice between funding our military and protecting the healthcare of America’s most vulnerable children or funding an unconstitutional program for people here illegally, which would you choose? Democrat senators were faced with that choice last night and they made the wrong choice.
By opposing passage of a reasonable continuing resolution (CR) to extend funding for the United States government, the Democrats in the Senate led by Sen. Chuck Schumer further endangered the safety and security of the men and women who serve in the United States military forces. The Schumer Shutdown increases the potential for serious injury and death for the men and women who risk their lives in their training, in their operation of aircraft, ships and land equipment that are outdated and lacking adequate maintenance and for those serving in combat operations.
The CR included six years of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), something Democrats traditionally support, that millions of low income Americans depend on for their children’s health care. Literally, the Schumer Shutdown has tied opposition to funding our military and CHIP to an attempt to force amnesty for the people, most of whom are now adults, who are in this country illegally. This is not only compromising our national security, it is compromising the health and safety of millions of American children and potentially causing resentment among American citizens against those who are here illegally as a result of the Obama Administration’s unconstitutional action called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
In general, I believe a majority of Republicans in the House and Senate are sympathetic to the plight of these young and older adults who were brought into the United States illegally as children. My colleagues and I want to provide a remedy that resolves the legal issue and helps them get right with the law and have an opportunity to earn the right to stay. As their vocal and disruptive demonstrations on Capitol Hill visibly show, they are not children anyone more, but adults who being used, not for their best interests, but as political pawns of the Democrat Party.
By attaching their demand for full amnesty and citizenship in order to fully and adequately fund our military and CHIP, the Democrats in both the House and Senate have made hostages of our service men and women and children in low-income families. Literally, the Democrats are encouraging and supporting the disruptive demonstrations by illegal aliens at our nation’s Capitol while our soldiers and sailors go wanting for the support they desperately need and potentially leaving millions of children without health insurance in midst of the most dangerous flu epidemic in America. This is not only dangerous, it is shameful.
If it was not already apparent, by now it should be to every American that by refusing to pass the CR, Sen. Schumer and the Democrats callously using the unconstitutional DACA program people in their quest for political power with a stunning reckless disregard for our military and the well-being of Americans families and their children. And whether the DACA demonstrators realize it or not, the Schumer Shutdown could make matters worse by diminishing their cause and their future acceptance among millions of otherwise sympathetic American people.
Finally, as if it is not evident enough that what the Schumer Shutdown is really all about then consider this. The Democrats ensured that funding for our military, CHIP, and other government programs ended at the precise second that marked the first anniversary of Donald Trump taking office as President of the United States. There is a disturbing and obsessive inability of the Democrats in both the House and Senate to accept the will of the people who elected President Trump. It appears to me that the Schumer Shutdown is simply the latest attempt to bring down the Trump presidency and halt the amazing success President Trump has achieved in his first year. The Democrats have literally come to the point where they are not only compromising our military and the health and well-being of American children, they are compromising the cause of DACA recipients and their own legitimacy as well.
