An Increasingly Unsafe World
We live in an increasingly unsafe world. Since President Biden took office, we witnessed the disastrous withdrawal of Afghanistan, the largest ground invasion in Europe since WWII, and the largest conflict in the Middle East in decades. Since October 17th, we have had more than 50 attacks on U.S. Military Forces or bases throughout the Middle East. This has resulted in injuries to more than 40 U.S. servicemembers. Terrorists are emboldened, and our adversaries are watching how we respond.
According to senior government intelligence officials, the United States is at the highest risk for a terror attack in a decade. FBI Director Wray testified in front of the Senate that we are not only facing threats to troops abroad, but on the home front as well. Specifically, he stated that, “In just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West. Al-Qaeda issued its most specific call to attack the United States in the last five years. ISIS urged its followers to target Jewish communities in the United States and Europe. Hezbollah has publicly expressed its support for Hamas and threatened to attack U.S. interests in the Middle East. And we’ve seen an increase in attacks on U.S. military bases overseas carried out by militia groups backed by Iran.” He drew direct correlations to the Biden Administration’s failed withdrawal in Afghanistan and the impact it has had on our ability to gather intelligence information on terrorist groups operating in the region, who could be planning attacks in the United States.
He also pointed to the disastrous impacts Biden’s open border policies are having, where thousands of migrants are entering undetected. The situation at our southern border has been worsened by the conflict in Israel. Since October, our southern border averaged over 1,000 gotaways per day. Many of these individuals are “special interest aliens” coming from Middle Eastern countries that harbor or support terrorism. In FY23, more than 150 people on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol. Our border is overrun, with the crisis leading to an inability to screen many of these individuals.
When it comes to the Pacific, President Biden will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco this week. One thing that must be addressed is China’s role in America’s fentanyl epidemic. Companies throughout China produce precursor chemicals for fentanyl that are being shipped to cartels in Mexico and then trafficked into our country. With an open southern border, these drugs are hitting the streets of towns across America.
Despite the President’s inaction, House Republicans are taking the lead. We passed H.R. 2, the most conservative southern border bill in history. This legislation has two fundamental goals: to secure the border and combat illegal immigration. When it comes to fentanyl, we have passed bills that increase penalties on foreign opioid traffickers, and one that permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances as Schedule One drugs. We are also seeking to counter China. We established the Select Committee on China, which is working to develop a plan of action to defend the American people, our economy, and our values from the threats posed by the CCP. Through the National Defense Authorization Act, we are increasing America’s abilities to counter China on land, air, sea, space, and cyber. We must maintain our global dominance, work to halt terror threats, and most importantly, safeguard the homeland by closing our southern border.