The Republican Recap: Week of January 20, 2025
Protecting Our Communities from Biden’s Border Crisis ✅
On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Laken Riley, a Georgia college nursing student with a promising future and loving family, was brutally murdered by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant while she was on a jog. The suspect, Jose Ibarra, had been paroled and released into the United States after crossing the border illegally in August 2022 – one example of how the Biden Administration has abused “humanitarian parole” to allow the mass release of illegals into our country with tragic consequences. Ibarra was later arrested in New York for “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17,” and in October 2023, Ibarra and his brother were arrested for shoplifting – both times he was released.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. In the past few years, we’ve seen several stories come out about the victims of Biden’s open border, including Jocelyn Nungaray and Rachel Morin. Between Feb. 5 and Feb. 16, Enforcement and Removal Operations officers arrested 275 illegal immigrant sex offenders nationwide. This is unacceptable. These criminals should not be allowed to enter our country, and especially should not be released from custody after committing horrific crimes here.
Under the Biden Administration, more than 8.8 million illegal immigrants have been encountered at the southern border. As our communities continue to suffer the consequences of Biden’s dangerous open border policies, it is more critical than ever that we stop allowing criminals to flood into our country and put American lives at stake.
S. 5, the Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Sen. Katie Britt, holds the Biden Administration accountable for their role in these tragedies through their open border policies, requires detention of illegal aliens who commit theft and mandates ICE take them into custody, and allows a state to sue the Federal government on behalf of their citizens for not enforcing the border laws, particularly in the case of parole.
“This week, Republicans and Democrats put partisan politics aside to save lives and reform a broken system that has failed American citizens across the country,” said Rep. Mike Collins. “The Laken Riley Act is bipartisan legislation that fixes a bipartisan problem, and I am proud that the country has come together to ensure that no family must live through the pain that an illegal immigrant has caused Riley’s. Laken Riley was in school to save lives, and although her opportunities were taken away, her name will live on as this bill prevents deaths like hers.”
What Members Said:
“The Biden-Harris Administration was marked by failure and corruption, but the failure that sits head and shoulders above all others was their open border policy. Almost immediately after President Biden was sworn in, America was overrun by a massive, unprecedented surge in illegal immigrants,” said Rep. Rudy Yakym. “President Biden's failure at the border had impacts across America. Every town was a border town. Once sleepy places were suddenly forced to contend with sex trafficking, drug trafficking, child labor, infectious diseases, petty theft, and yes, even rape and murder. Cartels got rich and small towns in my district were left scrambling for money and resources. This chaos was a choice made every single day of Joe Biden's presidency. No more. Monday marked a new era. President Trump has already taken more decisive action in 48 hours than President Biden took in four years. Let's send this bill to President Trump's desk.”
Improving Forest Management and Restoring American Forest Health ✅
Thanks to regulatory burdens that hinder the ability to responsibly manage federal lands, over 117 million acres of our nation’s forests are currently overgrown, fire-prone, unhealthy, and in need of active management, contributing to the growing threat of wildfires. Forest fires are becoming more devastating and frequent, burning more than twice as much tree cover today as they did 20 years ago.
As we have seen with the tragic fires plaguing Los Angeles, which have killed at least 27 people, razed more than 12,000 structures, and burned more than 60 square miles, these dangerous fires not only threaten our forests and environment, but the lives and communities of Americans, destroying homes and devastating families and workers. We must restore the health of America’s forests to reduce the number and severity of forest fires, keep our communities safe, and preserve the natural beauty of our great nation.
House Republicans passed legislation to reduce regulatory burdens that hinder active forest management, improving the health and resiliency of our forests, ensuring continued supply of clean drinking water and wood products, protecting wildlife habitats, supporting outdoor recreation, and keeping communities safe. Additionally, this commonsense bill works to prevent destructive wildfires and improve response by advancing technologies, enhancing transparency around wildfire mitigation investments, and ensuring communities are equipped to recover after a wildfire.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman’s legislation, H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act, expedites and improves forest management activities on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands, tribal lands, and National Forest System lands, deters frivolous litigation that delays important projects, promotes collaboration across jurisdictions, prioritizes treatments in the forests with highest risk of wildfire, and encourages active forest management.
“Congress is once again coming together and passing long overdue reforms to bring commonsense back into forest management. In the wake of the horrific wildfires in Southern California, it is clear there is no more time to waste. Today, the House took action to prevent future catastrophes as we passed the Fix Our Forests Act, which will empower land managers and agencies to use science-based tools to restore health to our nation’s forests and turn the tide against this historic wildfire crisis,” said Chairman Bruce Westerman.
What Members Said:
“This bill has a number of very important provisions. It simplifies and expedites environmental reviews; it ends frivolous legislation; it ends endless agency consultation; it strengthens the Good Neighbor Authority; it creates a new categorical exclusion for vegetation management for utility right of ways; it prioritizes hazardous fuel reduction in high risk fire sheds; it protects communities in wildland urban interfaces; and it incorporates technology in a smart way,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley. “The contrast could not be clearer to what is going on in Sacramento at the state capitol right now, where just in the last hour, the runaway super majority rejected legislation by Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher to add $1 billion to the fire prevention budget – the very budget that the current governor has slashed time and time again, and he was even caught by NPR exaggerating the amount of fire mitigation work done by quote, ‘a staggering 690 percent.’ So today, we will pass this very much needed legislation at the federal level, and it will make a big difference. It will reduce the risk of wildfire. But until California's political leadership gets its act together, our citizens will remain at risk.”
Requiring Medical Care for Born-Alive Abortion Survivors ✅
Currently, the law does not require health care practitioners to administer lifesaving medical care to babies born alive after an attempted abortion – instead, some abortionists will just supply “comfort care” or “let” the baby die by not taking any action to save its life as the baby struggles to survive after birth.
Providing medical care to babies that survive an abortion should not be a partisan issue – it’s a moral one. Babies born alive after an attempted abortion are no less deserving of lifesaving medical care than any other baby, and we must ensure that they receive the care and treatment they deserve.
House Republicans passed legislation to protect the fundamental right to life of abortion survivors by requiring health care practitioners that witness a live birth during or after an attempted abortion to administer the same care to preserve the health and life of the baby they would administer to any other child born at the same gestational age. Our bill also adds federal criminal penalties for health care practitioners who fail to administer care to a baby born alive or report violations through fines and up to five years imprisonment, and penalizes the intentional killing of a born-alive child as murder.
Rep. Ann Wagner’s legislation, H.R. 21, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, secures medical protections for babies that survive an attempted abortion, requiring health care providers to administer the same medical care they would to a fetus born prematurely at the same age, transport the child to the hospital, and report violations to law enforcement.
“I am so grateful the House passed my vital legislation to ensure babies who survive an abortion are afforded lifesaving medical care. Innocent children deserve the opportunity to live and thrive – period. It’s up to us to be the voice for these babies who are at their most vulnerable and ensure they get the love and care they need,” said Rep. Ann Wagner. “This should not be a controversial issue, but rest assured we will keep up the fight in Congress to make sure all babies, born and unborn, are treated like the miracles of life we know they are.”
What Members Said:
“I am appalled. I am absolutely appalled that we have to dictate in law that a newborn baby is a patient and not medical waste. The fact is, Democrat lawmakers all over the country are pushing legislation to give abortion providers an out from providing care to babies born after failed abortions. Babies born after a botched abortion are living human beings with blood in their veins and a beat in their hearts, just like you and me, and they deserve the same standard of care that any baby at the same age would receive,” said Rep. Michelle Fischbach. “Is providing medical care too much to ask? This bill is not about abortion. It is about medical care for babies.”
Distribution channels: U.S. Politics
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