Rep. Doug Collins was so fed up with “stunts” that Democrats play off as hearings that he interrupted his own statement to vent before Congress.
The Georgia Republican was speaking on family separations at the U.S. border before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday when the gravity of the situation invaded his thought process.
(Video: Fox News)
“And here we are again. We had this same hearing in February. We know the crisis on our southern border is being fueled by loopholes in our immigration laws, Border Patrol…has testified changes were needed to get the situation under control. In fact, we’ve heard that. Over and over and over and over again. But the crisis has gotten worse,” the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee began.
“In February, the Border Patrol apprehended 66,000 individuals. That number has been above 92,000 every month since. Peaking at over 132,000 in May alone,” he continued, noting how emotionally affected he was by reports of children being “used by dozens of different adults to cross our border.”
The congressman stopped short, however, and veered from his notes.
“Look, I’m going to stop. I’m not going to read this,” he said before erupting in a fiery lecture.
“You know what is dehumanizing? It’s continuing to bring the same witnesses, or the same people from the same agencies, to talk about this over and over and over again. What’s dehumanizing is doing that and not doing anything about it. That’s what’s dehumanizing,” he said.
“It’s talking about a problem. Talking about a problem. Talking about a problem. And never putting a solution up,” he added. “I’ve talked about this at every one of these so far. Especially in the last few weeks.”
Collins argued that, while he may not agree with the ideas Democrats bring to the table, they should at least “put a bill up.”
“And look, my Democratic colleagues have ideas. I may disagree with those ideas, but put a bill up! I have a bill. Put mine up. Make amendments to it, do whatever you want to do. That’s what Congress is supposed to do,” he exclaimed.
“Dehumanizing is this. This is dehumanizing. What a competent and capable majority would do is actually put a bill forward,” he said, calling out Democrats for their focus on attacking President Trump rather than passing legislation to address the problems they claim to care about.
Holding hearings while ignoring legislative solutions extends the border crisis. Obama and Trump Administrations saw the problem, and lawmakers can help end the crisis by taking up bills like the #FixtheImmigrationLoopholesAct. pic.twitter.com/EdE0jq78Rp
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) July 25, 2019
“We’re not capable and competent because we’re not putting bills forward. We’re having bash-the-president time, bash-the-administration time,” he continued, chiding his colleagues that “this falls back on us.”
“The laws need to be fixed and worked on but we don’t do it,” he said, calling out Democrats who continue to blast Trump for a zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration that they claim is “dehumanizing.”
Collins described a $4.6 billion emergency spending bill to replenish border resources a “flimsy Band-Aid” that didn’t even address the much-needed changes in immigration laws. He told prospective witnesses that their statements had been heard before and, though he was thankful they and the audience were there, he urged advocates to not accept another hearing but “accept some answers.”
“This is becoming, unfortunately, a committee of press releases. That’s it!” Collins exclaimed.
“Dehumanizing is taking people you say you care about but doing nothing for them. That’s dehumanizing. Competent and capable? Last time I understood, Congress should pass legislation,” he said, dropping to a slowed pace for his next words.
“I’ll be very slow. Pass. Bills. That matter. Don’t have hearings that are simply stunts” he said, as he continued to shred Congress, including Republican leaders, for not passing legislation because of political theater.
Collins ended his tirade by noting he was not able to read his prepared comments because of his frustration over a Congress “that is willing to listen to problems and not act on problems.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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