UPDATE – Hoyer on DHS Funding Bill’s passage

UPDATE

Hoyer: Passage of DHS Funding Bill Ensures Agency Has the Resources to Protect Our Country

WASHINGTON, DC  – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer’s (MD-5) delivered the following remarks Tuesday, March 3 at a press conference with House Democratic leaders after the House passed a clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year:

“Thank you, Madam Leader. There is a time to debate, and there is a time to decide. Today it was a time to decide…. This means that over approximately 230,000 people, who we ask daily to  work for the federal government on behalf of America’s security and the safety of our people, will have the assurance for the next seven months that they will have a funding stream and the resources to allow them to protect our country. I am glad that we came together on this bipartisan vote.

“Cleary, there are differences. There are differences on immigration reform. We ought to put a bill on the Floor on that subject and talk about it in a bipartisan way. Everyone says [our] immigration [system] is broken. Let’s fix it. Let’s put a bill on the Floor, and we can do for immigration what we did today for the funding of homeland security. This is a good day for America. The Congress worked today. Let us hope we use this as an example for the Congress tomorrow and the days there after. Thank you very much.”

[In response to a question about how the bipartisan DHS vote could impact cooperation on upcoming legislation, including highway reauthorization and an SGR fix]

“I just want to say that two-thirds of the Senate and the overwhelming [number of] Members in the House decided this was the common-sense, right thing to do. On all those other bills, if we can come to agreement that there is a common-sense, right thing to do, I’m sure Democrats and Republicans can vote together to do those kinds of things. That’s what we want to do. That’s what we came here to do.”

PREVIOUS STATEMENT PRIOR TO MARCH 3 VOTE

Washington, DC – For the second week in a row, Congress is facing a manufactured crisis with the Department of Homeland Security on the verge of a dangerous shutdown.  There are just four days left for House Republicans to allow a vote that will prevent funding for DHS from expiring, and a failure to do so would put the safety of Maryland families at risk during a time of increased threats. 

In December, House Republicans chose to fund DHS separately from the rest of the government. In January, when they returned to this issue, rather than passing a bill funding DHS for the remainder of the fiscal year, they attached amendments to the bill intended to target the President’s executive actions on immigration. This controversial measure failed to pass the Senate four times.  When it was clear that bill wouldn’t pass the Senate in that form, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held a vote on a clean bill – without any unrelated provisions on immigration included – to fund DHS for the remainder of the year. That bill passed with bipartisan support.

After that vote, and with time running short, House Republicans refused to bring the bipartisan Senate bill to the Floor. Instead, on Friday – the day DHS was set to run out of funds – they brought a short-term, three-week extension to the Floor. That bill was defeated; three weeks does not give DHS the certainty it needs to plan ahead and ensure the American people are protected, and it also does not provide certainty to the 4,500 DHS employees in Maryland, including many in the Fifth District.  These employees should not have to be concerned every few weeks about preparing to be furloughed or forced to work without pay.  In a letter to Congress, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson wrote: “A mere extension of a continuing resolution has many of the same negative impacts. A short-term continuing resolution exacerbates the uncertainty for my workforce and puts us back in the same position, on the brink of a shutdown just days from now.”

The House ultimately passed a one-week continuing resolution to provide additional time to bring the Senate bill to the Floor for a vote. I expect we will see that bill on the Floor this week so that we can keep DHS open and provide certainty to its employees. Failure to do so would result in a shutdown, which would have real consequences in our state. If DHS were to shut down, grants that help our Maryland and Fifth District public safety officials would be halted.  These include firefighter assistant grants; the Transit Security Grant, which improves security measures at our bus and rail systems; and the Port Security Grant Program, which provides security services at the Port of Baltimore.  Also affected would be approximately 600 Transportation Security Administration workers at Thurgood Marshall Baltimore/Washington International airport.  These employees are essential to the screening of passengers and the examination of cargo to prevent against threats such as terrorism or drug trafficking.

These dedicated public servants, who work hard every day to keep our country and Maryland safe, deserve the security and certainty of knowing they will be paid for the work they do and will not be furloughed.  That’s why I cosponsored the DHS Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act last week, which would ensure that all DHS employees receive retroactive pay in the event of a shutdown, regardless of furlough status.

House Republicans ought to stop prioritizing partisan politics ahead of protecting our homeland security.  Instead, I hope they will work with Democrats to protect the safety of our nation and ensure that DHS has the certainty of funding for the balance of the fiscal year.  I will continue to stand up for the employees of DHS and for the dedicated men and women serving across the federal workforce, and I urge my Republican colleagues to do the right thing and permit a vote before this week is over on the clean, full-year funding bill that the Senate has already passed, and which the President has said he would sign.