Senator Marshall: Kansas Families Deserve Safety, Not Political Games

Senator Marshall Hosts Local Virtual Press Conference

Washington - On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), hosted a local virtual press conference to discuss the state of the ongoing DHS shutdown as well as the SAVE America Act.

Senator Marshall expressed his frustration over Democrats prioritizing politics over Americans' safety and their unwillingness to engage in funding negotiations. He also emphasized his support for the SAVE America Act, urging members of the media to ask Democrats why they will not support voter ID.

Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall's full remarks.

Highlights from Senator Marshall's opening remarks include:

On DHS funding:

"Good morning, everybody. Senator Marshall, here in our office in DC, there's several big topics out there. We get lots of requests for interviews, and I just thought it would be efficient to try to do a bigger group. So, I appreciate everybody getting on the air today. I'm going to start off by talking about DHS funding and the SAVE [America] Act, and then we'll take it to questions and answers."

"So, starting off with DHS funding. I'm as frustrated as you are, and I would just ask my colleagues across the aisle, why are they wanting to put their politics ahead of Americans' safety? And I think that's what this issue is about. I think what most Americans don't know is the Democrats refused to negotiate, even when it comes to DHS funding; it took them 18 days to respond to President Trump's last offer."

"And then at the Senate member level, this negotiation will be done through our appropriations committee. And the Democrat appropriators refused to sit down with Katie Britt and with Susan Collins, our senators, who would oversee this negotiation. So ever since DHS was shut down, they refused to sit down and talk."

"Now, what is separating us right now from getting a deal done with the Democrats? I think we're down to two issues now. The Democrats finally responded to the President's offer, and the two issues that remain are: number one is the masking of the ICE agents. Number two is the use of administrative warrants on the masking issue. I certainly agree that the ICE officers can be more well identified as ICE officers, that they need their ID - there needs to be more uniformity. But my concern about asking these officers to be de-masked is that they're children and their spouses' lives are being threatened back home when people identify who they are, they're being doxed, as they use the term today, and their lives are literally threatened."

"I know it's spring break for so many Kansans. I saw some airports, and only half of the TSA officers showed up. At least 10% of them are staying at home on a regular basis. They have, as I call it, Schumer-it is. They have an illness because of Chuck Schumer's unwillingness to fund TSA. And I really think that it puts Americans' lives at stake when TSA folks are grumpy to say the least, that doesn't mention the lack of funding for the Coast Guard and FEMA as well."

"So again, the Democrats have chosen politics over the safety of Americans, and they still, even though they've not responded again to President Trump's counteroffer, they're still refusing to sit down and have this conversation."

On the SAVE America Act:

"The super majority of Americans think that safe and secure elections are the bedrock of our democracy, and unfortunately, over 60% of Americans are concerned about election integrity right now, and because of that, you know, they're afraid of their own vote being canceled."

"I think that we all realize that that's an opportunity for problems with election integrity. And then in America, right now, we have 50 million non-American citizens, and half of those are here illegally. And there are four states that are now allowing any type of immigrants to register to vote in their states. So, you're sitting at home, and you're thinking, my gosh, is my vote being canceled out by someone that shouldn't be able to vote in this election?"

"So, in response to that, Republicans have said, let's do voter ID. And I think it's so important to understand that only two of the 47 Senate Democrats have said they agree with voter ID, only two of the 47 realizing that 70% of Democrats believe in voter ID. So, to me, the real question is, why won't 10 Democrats come across the aisle and support election integrity, and if they don't like something about this bill, why won't they come to the table and negotiate?"

"There are three pillars to the SAVE [America] act. Number one is proof of citizenship when you register. Number two is proof of ID when you vote. And then when it comes to mail-in ballots, we want to verify your identification there as well. And certainly, I don't think unsolicited mail-in ballots are a good idea."

"Now I think we should continue to put pressure on the Democrats. I think that election integrity is so important. We could go back to this weekly and remove different parts of it and see what they would agree to. But I'm hoping over the next week or two, that Democrat Senators will listen to their states, listen to the people that voted for them or didn't vote for them, that want election integrity, and bring them to the table."

"So again, to me, the question is not how this debate is going to end, and all these issues about cloture and about the 60-vote threshold, to me, the real question that I hope the national media will ask Democrats is, do you support voter ID?"

"Again, only two of 47 Democrats have said they support voter ID. I don't know why they wouldn't also support proof of citizenship when you get when you when you're electing, when you go to register to vote. And I don't know why they wouldn't want some type of verification when people are sending in absentee ballots."

"President Reagan said: trust but verify. Aren't our elections worth so much more when it comes to value than those other issues are? So, I don't think it's unreasonable. Again, I just can't say it enough: Why don't 10 Democrat senators come across the aisle and vote in favor of the SAVE America Act to ensure election integrity?"

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