DHS Shutdown

Floor Speech

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Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Speaker, in my State of Washington, we are very familiar with the vital role the Department of Homeland Security plays. Nearly 1 year ago, in a matter of seconds, 1 square mile of land slid into the Stillaguamish River near Oso, Washington.

That landslide was a heartbreaking disaster that was unbelievably devastating in the damage and the tragic loss of life that it caused. Forty-three people died in the blink of an eye. But FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, was immediately on the scene to coordinate search-and-rescue operations.

Mr. Speaker, Congress needs to do everything possible to ensure that resources are available to respond to disasters because landslides have no season, earthquakes have no season, and terrorist attacks have no season. By failing to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the Congress risks the lives of Americans, and that is simply unacceptable.

Now, some have said that most employees will be deemed essential, meaning they will be asked to do their already high pressure jobs of protecting our communities without pay. That will be the case for more than 6,000 workers in my State. But FEMA Administrator Fugate said a lapse in funding would delay urgent disaster relief services because he would have to call staff back to work while the agency responds to an emergency.

Not only that, emergency responders who have requested Department of Homeland Security grants would be left without much-needed assistance. The Whatcom County Fire District 18, a mostly volunteer force that serves part of my district, applied for a $24,000 firefighters grant to replace vital equipment. This is equipment that protects the lives of these volunteers who are saving the lives of others. But if Congress fails to fund the Department of Homeland Security, those grants are at risk.

If House leadership would simply bring a clean DHS funding bill to the floor, we have the votes to pass it today. But instead, that legislation is being held hostage because some disagree with the President's executive actions.

Mr. Speaker, I helped introduce H.R. 15, a comprehensive immigration reform bill during the last Congress. But we never got a vote. If leadership agrees that this is such an important issue, so important that it is worth defunding an essential federal agency, then Congress should be working right now on comprehensive immigration reform and consider legislation immediately--but after we finish our job of funding the Department of Homeland Security. We need to stop playing politics and fund the Department of Homeland Security now.

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