VETERANS DAY 11/11/1919  

WE CELEBRATE OUR GREAT COMBAT VETS FOR THIER ULTIMATE SACRIFICE TO PROTECT THE FREEDOMS OF OUR COUNTRY, THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD.  SINCE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AS A COUNTRY WE HAVE LOST 646,596 WHO DIED PROTECTING THE UNITED STATES OR SERVING IN OTHER COUNTRIES. ANOTHER 539,000 DIED FROM NON-COMBAT-RELATED CAUSES. ALL TO PRESERVE A WAY OF LIFE NEVER FOUND IN THE PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE SOCIETIES AND BORN OF THE US CONSTITUTION AND DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.  REMEMBER THESE GREAT PATRIOTS AS YOU EMBRACE YOUR FREEDOM. NOLIMITUSA.US WILL KEEP THIS NOTIFICATION UP FOR THE FULL MONTH OF NOVEMBER IN HONOR OF THESE BRAVE SOULS. GOD BLESS THEM ALL. 

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory".

A SHORT HISTORY

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

                                            December 5, 2023

Shalanda D. Young Director

Office of Management and Budget 1650 17th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20500

Dear Director Young:

I am in receipt of your letter dated December 4, 2023, in which you reiterated the Administration’s request for additional supplemental appropriations.1

To the extent that the Administration’s latest request seeks aid for our ally Israel, I am pleased to remind the White House that the House of Representatives has already addressed that need responsibly with H.R. 6126, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. We passed that bill with a bipartisan vote more than a month ago, on November 2, 2023. H.R. 6126 includes the vital security assistance requested for Israel and is fully offset. Senate Democrats, however, have refused to consider the measure. In fact, when given the chance to debate H.R. 6126, all 51 Senate Democrats voted to block consideration of the bill.2

With respect to the Administration’s request for additional Ukraine funding, the position of Congressional Republicans has been clearly articulated since October 26, 2023. On that date, I met in the Situation Room with you, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other key leaders to present two essential prerequisites: security at our border, and critical answers regarding the funds requested.

First, I explained that supplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws. The House of Representatives has led in defining reforms to secure America’s borders and passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, more than six months ago. Senate Democrats have refused to act on that bill. 

Second, I explained that Congress and the American people must be provided with answers to our repeated questions concerning: the Administration’s strategy to prevail in Ukraine; clearly defined and obtainable objectives; transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars invested there; and what specific resources are required to achieve victory and a sustainable peace.

--------------------------------------- 

1 Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Johnson Ukraine Funding, Deceber 4, 2023, available at:

 h ttp s://www.whiteho u se.go v/wp -co n tent/u plo ad s/2 02 3 /1 2/John son_ Ukrain e -Fu nd ing _1 2.4 .2 3.pd f 

2 Senate Roll Call Vote 309, vote on the Motion to Table the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 6126 (a bill making emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the attacks in Israel for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024 and for other purposes), Nov. 14, 2023. Result of vote: 51 to 48. Vote results available at:

 https://www.senate.gov /legislative/LIS/ro ll_ call_v o tes/vo te11 81 /vo te_11 8_ 1_ 00 30 9 .htm 

I reiterate that President Biden must satisfy Congressional oversight inquiries about the Administration’s failure thus far to present clearly defined objectives, and its failure to provide essential weapons on a timely basis. American taxpayers deserve a full accounting of how prior

U.S. military and humanitarian aid has been spent, and an explanation of the president’s strategy to ensure an accelerated path to victory. In light of the current state of the U.S. economy and the massive amount of our national debt, it is our duty in Congress to demand answers to these reasonable questions, and we still await the answers.

With regard to the U.S. border, the need to regain operational control has never been more urgent and the American people deserve immediate action. In your previous letter requesting supplemental appropriations, dated August 10, 2023, you acknowledged our country has a “fundamentally broken [immigration] system,” and you described the existence of child exploitation, an “influx of illicit drugs” pouring across our borders, and the destructive impact of all this on public health. However, your letter also strangely suggested the “Administration’s plan is working as intended.”3

What is happening at the border is nothing short of a catastrophe and I bring the following to your attention:

1. Record Illegal Immigration. Under the Biden Administration, as of November 14, 2023, there have been more than “6.5 million illegal alien encounters along the southwest border by Customs and Border Protection”.4 This does not include “at least 1.7 million known ‘gotaways’” or the “untold numbers of unknown ‘gotaways.’”5 Moreover, since fiscal year 2021, U.S. Border Patrol has reportedly encountered 294 aliens on the terrorist watchlist. The Administration’s policies have led to nothing short of a “brutal invasion” of our own country which now threatens our nation’s sovereignty.

2. Straining Community Resources. On an almost daily basis now, news reports document how vulnerable American citizens are being forced to take a back seat to illegal aliens. For example, New York City has converted public school facilities into shelters to house illegal aliens, potentially subjecting residents to danger from unvetted persons.6 Elderly Americans, including at least one veteran, have been evicted from their nursing homes to house “migrants.”7 Last month, “poor American citizens [were] forced to compete with illegal aliens for Thanksgiving meals,”8 and the Administration began housing migrants on our nation’s public lands.9 The American people, including veterans, children, the elderly, and the poor, are increasingly being denied basic services as a result of this Administration’s policies and failure to secure our borders.

3. Influx of Illicit Drugs, Risks to Public Health. From 2019 to 2022, the number of fentanyl deaths in the U.S. has more than doubled, rising from 36,359 in 2019, to 73,654 in 2022.10 Gaining operational control of the border is critical not only to screen and deter illegal immigration, but also to combat illicit drugs. The policies of the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have defied federal law and opened the border, and consequently ceded operational control to the Mexican cartels, empowering them and enriching drug smugglers and human traffickers at the expense of, and at risk to, public health.

---------------------------------------- 

4. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Letter regarding critical funding needs for FY 2024, August 10, 2023, available at: h ttp s://www.whiteho u se.g ov /wp -con tent/u p lo ad s/2 02 3 /0 8 /Fin al -Su pp lemen tal -Fun d in g -Requ est-

 Letter-an d -Tech n ical-Materials.pd f 

4 House Judiciary Committee, “The Biden Border Crisis: By the Numbers.”

5 Id.

6 Associated Press, “New York City turns to school gyms to house new migrants, prompting uproar,” May 16, 2023. See here:

 h ttp s://apn ews.co m/article/migrants -asylu m-n ew-y o rk -eric-ad ams-sch o o ls-2 c6 13 24 05 4 e5 5b 05 32 c4 89 9 67 94 cc3 0 a 

7 New York Post, Army vet, 94, kicked out of NYC nursing home to make room for migrants,” November 30, 2023. See here:

 h ttp s://ny po st.com/20 23 /11 /30 /n ews/army -v et-k icked -out-of-ny c-nu rsin g-ho me-to-mak e-ro o m-fo r-mig ran ts/  

Note: The Monroe Doctrine was expressed during President Monroe's seventh annual message to Congress, December 2, 1823:...At the proposal of the Russian Imperial Government, made through the minister of the Emperor residing here, a full power and instructions have been transmitted to the minister of the United States at St. Petersburg to arrange by amicable negotiation the respective rights and interests of the two nations on the northwest coast of this continent. A similar proposal has been made by His Imperial Majesty to the Government of Great Britain, which has likewise been acceded to. The Government of the United States has been desirous by this friendly proceeding of manifesting the great value which they have invariably attached to the friendship of the Emperor and their solicitude to cultivate the best understanding with his Government. 

*In the discussions to which this interest has given rise and in the arrangements by which they may terminate the occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. . .

It was stated at the commencement of the last session that a great effort was then making in Spain and Portugal to improve the condition of the people of those countries, and that it appeared to be conducted with extraordinary moderation. It need scarcely be remarked that the results have been so far very different from what was then anticipated. Of events in that quarter of the globe, with which we have so much intercourse and from which we derive our origin, we have always been anxious and interested spectators. *The citizens of the United States cherish sentiments the most friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defense. With the movements in this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political system of the allied powers is essentially different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective Governments; and to the defense of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the Governments who have declared their independence and maintain it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. In the war between those new Governments and Spain we declared our neutrality at the time of their recognition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere, provided no change shall occur which, in the judgement of the competent authorities of this Government, shall make a corresponding change on the part of the United States indispensable to their security. The late events in Spain and Portugal shew that Europe is still unsettled. Of this important fact no stronger proof can be adduced than that the allied powers should have thought it proper, on any principle satisfactory to themselves, to have interposed by force in the internal concerns of Spain. To what extent such interposition may be carried, on the same principle, is a question in which all independent powers whose governments differ from theirs are interested, even those most remote, and surely none of them more so than the United States. Our policy in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting in all instances the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none. But in regard to those continents circumstances are eminently and conspicuously different.

*It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political system to any portion of either continent without endangering our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe that our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition in any form with indifference. If we look to the comparative strength and resources of Spain and those new Governments, and their distance from each other, it must be obvious that she can never subdue them. It is still the true policy of the United States to leave the parties to themselves, in hope that other powers will pursue the same course....

JAMES MONROE, DEC 2, 1823 5TH PRESIDENT OF USA

------------------------------------------ 

4. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Letter regarding critical funding needs for FY 2024, August 10, 2023, available at: h ttp s://www.whiteho u se.g ov /wp -con tent/u p lo ad s/2 02 3 /0 8 /Fin al -Su pp lemen tal -Fun d in g -Requ est-

 Letter-an d -Tech n ical-Materials.pd f 

4 House Judiciary Committee, “The Biden Border Crisis: By the Numbers.”

5 Id.

6 Associated Press, “New York City turns to school gyms to house new migrants, prompting uproar,” May 16, 2023. See here:

 h ttp s://apn ews.co m/article/migrants -asylu m-n ew-y o rk -eric-ad ams-sch o o ls-2 c6 13 24 05 4 e5 5b 05 32 c4 89 9 67 94 cc3 0 a 

7 New York Post, Army vet, 94, kicked out of NYC nursing home to make room for migrants,” November 30, 2023. See here:

 h ttp s://ny po st.com/20 23 /11 /30 /n ews/army -v et-k icked -out-of-ny c-nu rsin g-ho me-to-mak e-ro o m-fo r-mig ran ts/  

4. Dangers of Exploitation. Encouraged by the open border, vulnerable migrants from many countries around the world have made a treacherous journey to cross into our country illegally, and countless women and children have been physically abused and sexually assaulted along the way. Horrific reports have documented the use of so-called “rape tents” at the Mexican border,11 and many federal officials and experts have shared harrowing stories of human suffering in their testimony to Congress. The Administration has encouraged, rather than discouraged, the flow of illegal immigration and is thus perpetuating these horrors every single day.

The open U.S. border is an unconscionable and unsustainable catastrophe, and we have a moral responsibility to insist this madness stops immediately. Rather than engaging with Congressional Republicans to discuss logical reforms, the Biden Administration has ignored realty, choosing instead to engage in political posturing. We stand ready and willing to work with the Administration on a robust border security package that protects the interests of the American people. It is well past time for the Administration to meaningfully engage with us.

Sincerely,

Mike Johnson Speaker of the House

---------------------------------------- 

8  Fox 5 New York, “NYCHA residents and migrants spar over food, resources in Queens,” November 17, 2023. Available at:

 h ttp s://www.fo x5 ny.co m/n ews/nych a -residen ts-an d -mig ran ts-spar-o v er-fo od -resou rces-in-q u een s. See also, BlazeMedia, “Poor American citizens forced to compete with illegal aliens for Thanksgiving meals: ‘There simply is just not enough,’” November 22, 2023.       Available       at:    https://www.theblaze.com/news/poor-american -citizens-forced -to-comp ete-with -illegal-alien s-fo r- 

 th an k sg iv in g-meals 

9 FoxNews, “Biden White House faces backlash for housing migrants on national park land,” November 14, 2023. Available at:

 h ttp s://www.fo xn ews.co m/p olitics/bid en -wh ite-ho u se-faces-b ack lash -h ou sing -mig rants-n ation al-p ark -land 

10 USAFACTS, Are fentanyl overdose deaths rising in the US?, September 27, 2023. Available at: https://u safacts.o rg/articles/are- 

 fen tany l-o v erdo se-d eath s-risin g -in -th e-u s/

11 New York Post, “Migrant children sexually abused in ‘rape tents’ while crossing deadly Darien Gap: report,” November 23, 2023.  Available   at:   h ttp s://ny post.com/20 23 /11 /23 /news/child ren -sexually -abused -in -rape-tents-while-crossing -deadly-darien -

 g ap-report/. See also, Reuters, “Migrants are being raped at Mexico border as they await entry to US,” September 29, 2023. Available at: h ttp s://www.reu ters.co m/wo rld /mig ran ts -are-b eing -rap ed -mex ico -bo rd er-th ey -await-en try -us-2 02 3 -09-29/ 

CC:

The Hon. Hakeem Jeffries

The Hon. Charles Schumer

The Hon. Mitch McConnell