DHS Shutdown

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, there are just 2 days left until the Department of Homeland Security shuts down. The Department charged with keeping Americans safe is set to run out of funding tomorrow all because Republicans in Congress insist on manufacturing political crises instead of working to help hardworking Americans get ahead.
A shutdown would mean that those charged every day with protecting our safety would all be expected to report for duty without any promise of a paycheck. In my home State of New Jersey, that would mean that over 4,000 Department of Homeland Security employees, including nearly 1,600 Active Duty Coast Guard members, would go to work without any pay.

Payments to help Sandy victims recover would also not be able to be processed in the event of a shutdown. Those families have already suffered enough. They don't need a Republican shutdown making things even more difficult.

Ensuring the safety of the American people should never be a partisan issue. And now is the time to come together and do what is right to protect all of our families.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 861, the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would keep the Department open so it can carry out its mission of keeping the American people safe.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. As the Chair previously advised, that request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance.

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