Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak against H.R. 240, the venomous and dangerous Republican appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

This bill and its amendments pander to those in the Republican Party who are unhappy with President Obama's executive action on immigration. It is malicious and foolishly puts our country at risk. Republicans brought this legislation under the guise of defending the Constitution, but the President's actions are constitutional. The obstruction and political games that Republicans are playing are the true behaviors that need to be condemned.

Republicans aren't interested in offering solutions or working to tackle the most pressing issues facing our country. How do I know? Because instead of offering a long-term solution to fix our broken immigration system, Republicans have opted to hold hostage funding for one of the most critical agencies in our government. As they peddle their malice about immigrants to pander to their base, they put our national security at risk. We should be doing everything we can to provide our security agencies with the support and the resources they need to prevent attacks like the one that occurred in France last week. Instead, Republicans are willing to withhold funding our national security in order to send a message to the President.

And as if that weren't juvenile enough, this bill also attacks the most vulnerable in our society. Republican amendments seek to revictimize those who have suffered domestic violence, picking on one of the groups least able to defend themselves. When I was a kid, we just called that bullying.

Republicans are consciously targeting millions of families who work hard, who contribute to their communities and are just trying to give their children a chance at the American Dream. You know, that same dream that many of our parents and grandparents had when they came to this country.

Mr. Chairman, with this bill, Republicans are not just abandoning basic humanity, they are also turning their backs on the economic benefits that come with bringing these people out of the shadows.

We could grow our economy anywhere from $90 billion to $210 billion over the next 10 years if we allow workers a chance to participate in the formal economy.

This is a new Congress and a new opportunity to work together. As a country, we are better than this. Shame on you.

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