Expressing the Support of the House of Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MACKENZIE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1131, I call up the bill (H. Res. 1128) expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MACKENZIE. Res. 1128.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1128, Expressing the Support of the House of Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security.
As we meet today, tens of thousands of Federal workers serving on the front lines of our national security are going unpaid. For over 40 days, the men and women we count on to protect passengers, secure our critical infrastructure, and step up during disasters have gone unpaid.
For the third time in 6 months, politics is getting in the way of critical American workers, the pay that they have earned. The impact of these political games isn't theoretical. It is causing real-world impacts each and every day.
Over 50,000 Federal employees are going without paychecks just at TSA alone. Hundreds of employees have quit. Call-out rates are in the double digits, and those who are able to go to work are stuck managing some of the longest lines that we have seen at U.S. airports.
All of this is happening at a time when our Nation is preparing to host major events while experiencing heightened national security risks.
We have to do better.
Today, this House will have an opportunity to vote on my resolution, H. Res. 1128, affirming the importance of DHS, the necessity of funding its agencies and employees, the risks of defunding our security apparatus, and our gratitude to the men and women who are working every day to protect this Nation.
The House has already passed the appropriations bill to fully fund DHS twice, both times with bipartisan support.
Now, it is time for us to speak with one voice putting aside politics to thank the members of the Coast Guard, FEMA, TSA, and more, who are continuing to do their jobs and keep us safe, despite many now going nearly a month and a half without a paycheck.
Saying ``yes'' to funding does not mean saying ``no'' to reform. There are concerns that need to be addressed with respect to certain ICE and CBP operations, and when there are opportunities for positive reform we should work together to achieve it.
That is why the DHS funding bill passed twice by this House already features significant new measures aimed at reducing tensions and improving transparency, including new funding for body cameras, de- escalation training, and the DHS Office of Inspector General.
Despite this, in the face of grave terror threats against our Nation, some are choosing to politicize our national security and hold paychecks hostage until all of their demands are met.
Let me be clear. Conversations about commonsense reforms at DHS operations are underway. They were underway before this shutdown. They continue to go on, and we will not stop until we get the reforms that the American people are looking for.
I look forward to continuing to engage on this issue and working together to achieve a system of immigration enforcement that meets the needs and standards of the American people.
Defunding our security apparatus, robbing workers of their paychecks, and creating chaos at our airports across this country does not bring us any closer to achieving those goals. It is time to put the politics aside and get serious about our national security.
In the meantime, the American people are waiting. Throughout this shutdown, we have seen powerful examples of our communities stepping in to provide for neighbors and those who are impacted. In my district in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, we have seen residents coming forward to donate everything, like food and diapers, to our dedicated TSA agents at our local airport. They are continuing to do their jobs every single day, even as the bills pile up and savings are stretched thin.
To the TSA staff at the ABE airport and to all those impacted workers in my district and throughout the country who are continuing to work, I say: Thank you. I also thank all of those who stepped up to provide support for them and their families.
Here is the reality: We shouldn't have to count on local communities to provide for our Federal workers. That is the job of our elected Representatives. That is why I and so many in this Chamber have voted to provide full funding for DHS.
Tens of thousands of Federal workers are doing their jobs. We, in a bipartisan fashion, have already done that here in the House of Representatives, but we need bipartisan buy-in from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to make it a reality. We need bipartisan support in the Senate to get Democrats to go along with this full funding of DHS to make sure that this makes its way to the President's desk and gets signed into law.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution thanking these workers and recognizing the critical nature of the work that they do to protect our communities and our country, and calling for the Department of Homeland Security to receive full funding--full funding-- for its needs to keep our community safe.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MACKENZIE.
Mr. Speaker, what we just heard was not, in fact, the whole story. The previous speaker mentioned that he wanted to tell the whole story. Well, I think it is important that we get all the facts on the record.
What the gentleman left out was that he, himself, voted twice against funding for DHS. This resolution is not in lieu of the opportunity to vote for funding. We are going to give you another opportunity, but you are going to vote ``no'' again. That is the whole story.
The Democrats in this House want to stand in the way of keeping America safe. The Democrats in the Senate want to change the rules of the game. What they choose to do is they go out there and demand all kinds of unrealistic conditions that would actually hamstring DHS, keep our country less safe, and are totally unworkable in practice.
We, as Republicans, have offered full funding. We have offered partial funding with reforms. We have said here is the way that we can make this system not only better but keep America safe while making these reasonable commonsense reforms.
What did they do? They dismissed them out of hand.
He said Donald Trump, our President, our duly elected President, has shot down these opposition proposals. That is not the case. The Senate, the Congress are the ones that are going to advance these pieces of legislation to the President's desk.
The Senate has put forward those proposals to Democratic colleagues, and what did they do? They are the ones who rejected the latest offer. We have extended the olive branch, we have extended our hand and said: Come together, work with us, fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.
They will never fund ICE because of their radical left. They are beholden to the fringe in their party that will do everything to protect and promote illegal immigrants over the interests of American citizens. However, it should be noted that ICE actually does some very critical work in our local community.
There is Homeland Security Investigations, HSI. What does that do as a part of ICE? They go out and protect people against human trafficking, drug trafficking, drug smuggling. That is what you are opposed to? It is ludicrous.
Mr. Speaker, we have to fully fund ICE. The previous gentleman said that this resolution doesn't do enough. I agree. I agree. The resolution is a way to thank and recognize DHS and all of its employees for the great work they do to keep us safe. We should agree on that.
We should also agree on getting funding to fully fund the operations of DHS. You voted against it twice. You are going to vote against it again, and you are going to leave the American people less safe. That is the full story.
I appreciate the spirited debate, but it is important when you are debating somebody to call out their half-truths and their deflections. The half-truth that this gentleman speaks of is that Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House, and so that gives us total ability to pass whatever we want. That is not the case.
We know that in the Senate you need 60 votes to get something passed in policy, so you do need bipartisan support to actually get something passed into law and help the American people.
We are asking, Mr. Speaker, for our Democrat colleagues to come along and join us in fully funding the operations of DHS.
Now, the deflection comes when he tells you all about the important and critical training and the ways that DHS operates.
We are talking not only in this resolution but also in an appropriations bill that is going to follow about fully funding the operations of ICE.
The gentleman tries to obfuscate, tries to change the conversation. The bottom line is that that funding for DHS was voted on twice in this House already. We voted for it in a bipartisan fashion, and we are going to give all Members of this body the ability to vote on it for a third time.
Mr. VAN EPPS. Mr. Speaker, Democrats' government shutdown has now lasted over 40 days, and it will have lasting consequences.
This goes far beyond long airport lines.
Only a fraction of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's workforce remains on duty, weakening our ability to defend critical infrastructure from threats like Iranian cyber retaliation.
Modern conflicts aren't limited to air, sea, and land. Adversaries now target critical infrastructure, including energy grids, financial systems, transportation networks, government systems, and healthcare services.
Democrats say they want a deal. Well, let's look at their deals.
Under the Biden administration, officials apprehended a Venezuelan illegal alien at the border and still released him into the country. Now, 3 years later that man killed an innocent 18-year-old American, Sheridan Gorman.
This is the consequence of Biden's failed policy: When the Democrats are in control, they prioritize criminals over citizens.
Now the damage extends beyond our streets. The shutdown is setting back American shipbuilding and weakening our maritime readiness. The Coast Guard can't pay shipyards to maintain its fleet, and contractors are reconsidering whether it is even worth doing business with the Federal Government.
Think about that. It is now too risky to work with the United States Coast Guard. That is the direct result of Democrats using DHS as leverage. They put Americans at risk to advance a political agenda. As we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11, we should be strengthening Homeland Security. Instead, Democrats are weakening it.
After three shutdowns in a single fiscal year, their priorities are clear: They care more about politics than protecting the American people.
Mr. Speaker, it is so critically important that we fund and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. The best way to do that is in a bipartisan fashion. That is why this House of Representatives has already voted twice with bipartisan support to advance that legislation over to the Senate.
The previous speaker, his wishful thinking, his off-the-wall Rube Goldberg proposal, saying that Republicans in the House are somehow opposing his scheme, it is just simply unrealistic. The American people don't buy it because there is not something before us that has the bipartisan support of over 218 votes to pass. That is not what he is proposing. What we have is the pragmatic, commonsense solution that has the bipartisan support to pass twice. Join us in that effort. Join us, please. Please. I don't understand, Mr. Speaker--
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MACKENZIE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all this discussion, again. We have to do what is best for the American people. We already have something that is advanced. We are going to continue that conversation. In addition to that, we can continue to thank and recognize all of our workers at DHS.
Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleague who just spoke can stick around to hear this. It is important that we are on the same page.
My esteemed colleague was here years ago during 9/11. The reason why we established the Department of Homeland Security, as the gentleman knows, is to break down silos. What Democrats are advocating for is building up walls, siloing off parts of our Department of Homeland Security, and leaving our country less safe.
That was the whole point of having a unified Department of Homeland Security. The previous speaker knows that history, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman knows that full well. Everybody who was here after 9/11 knows that full well.
To go back on that and try to break down these silos and say that we want to fund everything, but we want to defund Federal law enforcement, that is an affront to our national security. That is an affront to the American people.
Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that we need to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. We have that resolution on the floor. We are going to offer it up again. We are going to give them a third opportunity, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful that my colleague stuck around to hear that it is a disastrous idea to build silos in the Department of Homeland Security and to defund Federal law enforcement. That is absolutely accurate, and we need it on the record that those statements were damaging to what our national security apparatus does every single day to keep us safe.
Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate the spirited debate with my colleagues, especially the past speaker. We appreciate his experience. He has been a Member of this body since even before I was born. I am 43 years old now. He has been a Member of this Chamber for longer than that. He was elected in 1981, and we appreciate his experience and knowledge that he brings to this debate. Yet, when somebody is wrong, regardless of their age or experience, it is our obligation to recognize that and call that out.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MACKENZIE. Mr. Speaker, may I as to the time remaining?
Mr. Speaker, again, Republicans are offering this resolution to thank our great men and women of the Department of Homeland Security for all of their work during this Democratic shutdown, where they are not receiving funding and their paychecks to support them and their families.
Republicans have this resolution and also the resolution for appropriating all of the funding, and those are both going to come before the full House. I encourage all of my colleagues to support it. We have had bipartisan support for the appropriations in the past, and, hopefully, we will get that again this time.
Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding the time.
Mr. Speaker, I have a message for the American people.
Dear Americans: Democrats do not care about your safety.
They are displaying this right before our very eyes. Democrats do, obviously, before our own eyes, practice political gamesmanship rather than provide real security for our homeland safety.
At a time when our Nation faces threat after threat, it is imperative that we have a strong and fully funded Department of Homeland Security.
The brave men and women of DHS work hard every single day to keep Americans safe. They have earned our support. How do Democrats repay them for their work? They shut down the Department of Homeland Security.
I am proud to stand in support of this resolution today to shine a light on the great work that they do. However, it cannot go unsaid that many of my Democrat colleagues who may vote in favor of this resolution today will still continue to maintain that DHS would be unfunded, as they have voted four separate times against its reopening, purely because of political games.
At a time when our Nation faces increased security risks, Democrats are choosing politics over our Nation's safety.
They are giving us one crystal clear message: They do not care about Americans' safety. If they did, wouldn't the agency whose sole job is to protect America be funded at this very hour?
Securing America's safety and the ensuring brave employees of the Department of Homeland Security receive the funding they undoubtedly deserve must happen, and it must happen soon.
Mr. Speaker, this conversation has been rewarding and enlightening for the American people.
I have heard half-truths, deflections, and obfuscations from the other side throughout our conversation today. I have also heard fearmongering.
What we need are pragmatic, commonsense solutions that have bipartisan support. That is what we have with the DHS funding appropriations that Congress has already passed through the House that we are going to have an opportunity to vote on again. It is a chance to give the American people the results that they are looking for. It is not a conversation. It is fact.
Mr. Speaker, it has been great to hear the other side put themselves on the record for not fully funding parts of the Department of Homeland Security, for building up silos, for advocacy about defunding law enforcement. That is what we have heard here today. It is shocking, but I think it is enlightening for the American people to see that contrast and have it on full display.
I wish that we had more than an hour to have this debate. I think this is something that every American should see: Republicans coming together to support national security, to fund our workers, and to give our workers, the American people, the paychecks they deserve for the work that they are doing. However, Mr. Speaker, the other side stands in objection as an obstacle to this commonsense solution every single day.
Mr. Speaker, at this point, I thank the other side for putting this contrast on full display for the American people, and I reserve the balance of my time.
I couldn't agree with my colleague more that we should fund and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security today. That is why we are going to have the opportunity for every Member to vote ``yes'' on that resolution to fully fund it.
We are also going to have the opportunity in addition to that funding to give our Members the opportunity to vote in full support of the men and women at the Department of Homeland Security and all the great work they do every single day. I would encourage a ``yes'' vote on both of those resolutions, certainly on the one that is being debated here before us, H. Res. 1128.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source