North Shore Louisiana News

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise joined several Republican lawmakers in a press conference to discuss the urgent need for border security and the negative impacts of President Biden's policies. Scalise emphasized the importance of securing the border and criticized the Senate and the President for failing to take action.

Scalise began by expressing his gratitude for the support and prayers he received during his battle with cancer. He stated, "It is great to be back. And even more importantly than that, it is great to be in remission from cancer. It's been a long battle, about six months long. But God answers prayers, and there have been a lot of prayers and thank everybody for the support and prayers along the way."

Turning to the issue of border security, Scalise highlighted the crisis at the southern border, stating, "We've had millions of people come across our border illegally, including people on the terrorist watch list, drug dealers from Mexico, the cartels having operational control of our southern border – our southern border – to the point where they're bringing drugs in that are killing 150 young people in America every single day. That should matter to everybody, especially the President of the United States and especially the Secretary of Homeland Security."

Scalise criticized the Senate for failing to pass important legislation to secure the border. He mentioned H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, which House Republicans passed months ago but has not been taken up by the Senate. He said, "The Senate can't even pass their own bill. And if they ignore this and just throw it in the trash can without taking it as seriously as the American people do, then there will be accountability and consequences to that action."

Scalise also expressed disappointment in President Biden's refusal to meet with Speaker Johnson to discuss the border crisis. He said, "If you don't care about one of the biggest crises facing our country, to the point where the president won't even sit down with the Speaker of the House to talk about ways to solve this problem, when we've laid out a number of different options – not just laid them out, we passed them, which is not easy to do."

In addition to border security, Scalise addressed the issue of President Biden's ban on LNG exports. He argued that this ban empowers America's adversaries and kills American jobs. He stated, "There is nobody in the world that produces energy cleaner and more efficient than the United States of America. And stop attacking American energy, Mr. President, because when we make energy, we do it better than anybody else in the world. And it allows us not only to lower prices here at home for families who are struggling, but it also allows us to send that energy to our friends around the world."

Scalise announced that a bill to reverse the ban on LNG exports will be brought up for a vote. He emphasized the importance of this bill in supporting American energy production and protecting jobs.

In conclusion, Scalise reaffirmed the commitment of House Republicans to fight for border security and address the pressing issues facing the nation. He said, "We're going to keep doing our job here in this majority."