Thread: New Bill Would Fund Homeland Security Without Immigration Program Cuts

Immigration Executive Action Today: New Bill Would Fund Homeland Security Without Immigration Program Cuts

By Michael Oleaga (m.oleaga@latinpost.com)
First Posted: Feb 13, 2015 12:00 AM EST


Two U.S. representatives, each who represent states with large immigrant populations, have introduced legislation to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without negative impacts to President Barack Obama's deferred action programs.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., sponsored H.R. 861. The legislation comes a little more than two weeks before HDS funding expires.

According to Roybal-Allard, the first Mexican American woman to serve in Congress since her election in 1993, Congress is "no closer" to providing funds for the DHS' 2015 fiscal year despite the need to protect the U.S. from terrorist threats. She added, "The Senate has definitively demonstrated that there are insufficient votes to bring up a DHS funding bill containing the House-passed poison pill riders. The clean, bipartisan, full-year DHS funding bill we are offering addresses the most pressing needs of the Department as it works to protect our country from harm. The President would sign that bill today, and we should send it to him."

The "poison pill riders" refers to the amendments attached to the original DHS funding bill (H.R. 240) from the House, which would defund Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided eligible undocumented immigrant youths a temporary stay from deportation. The House passed H.R. 240 during January, largely along Republican votes. The Senate sought to pass the bill, but it has been blocked on three occasions by Senate Democrats.

Rep. Lowey said the Republican leadership is holding the DHS funding hostage. She added, "Democratic and Republican negotiators reached agreement on Homeland Security funding and policy issues in December, yet Republican leadership continues to play a dangerous and irresponsible political game, demanding a ransom that they cannot achieve through the normal legislative process. It is past time to end this charade and put a clean DHS funding bill on the floor."

Funding for the DHS will provide the department the financials for active duty Coast Guard military members, Border Patrol Agents, Secret Service agents, TSA security screeners and other officers.

During a House speech on Wednesday, Roybal-Allard acknowledged Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson's warnings about the failure to pass the funding bill.

"He (Johnson) tells us that without a full-year budget, he is unable to move forward on key homeland security priorities, including new investments in border security technology; more aggressive investigations by ICE related to drug smuggling, human smuggling, and trafficking; preparedness for responding to surges in illegal migration; security upgrades at the White House Complex; and grants for state and local terrorism prevention and response capabilities," said Roybal-Allard. "And the list goes on."

Roybal-Allard noted the efforts to confine Obama's immigration executive actions should not affect an appropriations bill, but rather through the authorizing committees. She recognized congressional passage of H.R. 240 with the amendments would cost the government $7.5 billion, as Latin Post reported, based on the Congressional Budget Office.

"Republicans control majorities in both the House and the Senate, and they control the agenda," Roybal-Allard continued. "By allowing a vote on the clean, full-year bipartisan DHS funding bill, the leadership today has the opportunity to make clear that the nation's security takes priority over unrelated policy debates over immigration enforcement strategy."

During his weekly press conference, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, placed blame for the DHS funding hurdles on Senate Democrats. He said, "When it comes to funding the Department of Homeland Security, there is no dispute amongst Republicans. House Republicans and Senate Republicans all agree, and frankly, Senate Democrats should stop blocking debate on the House-passed bill."

Boehner said Senate Democrats can offer amendments to the DHS funding bill currently in the Senate. He said Democrats will have to face the responsibility if DHS funding expires.

http://www.latinpost.com/articles/37...nita-lowey.htm

Rep. Lowey said the Republican leadership is holding the DHS funding hostage. She added, "Democratic and Republican negotiators reached agreement on Homeland Security funding and policy issues in December, yet Republican leadership continues to play a dangerous and irresponsible political game, demanding a ransom that they cannot achieve through the normal legislative process

We already have laws on the books that were achieved through the normal legislative process. The issue isn't the normal legislative process, the issue is the failure of the Executive Branch to comply with and enforce those laws. What the President is doing is circumventing those laws, abandoning his duties under those laws, and destroying the domestic tranquility of our people while bankrupting our national treasury by circumventing those laws. There is no wrong greater than this in our country, and no threat greater than the one we're trying stop.

BREAKING NEWS FLASH: Congressman Langevin (D-RI) cosponsors bill to keep Dept of Homeland Security open

Jim Langevin

Washington, DC -- Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, yesterday cosponsored H.R. 861, a clean funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year, and prevent a February 28th shutdown of the agency charged with coordinating efforts to prevent, as well as respond to, acts of terrorism on American soil.

“If Republicans are serious about border security and guarding against potential terrorist attacks, then they have to demonstrate that with actions, and that should not include holding hostage the agency that leads our efforts to keep America safe,” said Langevin, who is also a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. “This is a distraction, and I call on my colleagues to vote on a clean DHS spending bill before time runs out. We must act quickly to ensure our country and its people are kept safe.”

On Wednesday, House Republicans unanimously voted to block consideration of the clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, even after Republican leaders in the Senate declared Republicans’ anti-immigrant bill dead on arrival. As of February 12, there are only 16 calendar days and five legislative days until the Department of Homeland Security shuts down, closing down the bulk of DHS’s management and support of the homeland security infrastructure that was built following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Consequences of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security include: shuttering the DHS Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which would no longer alert and coordinate with local law enforcement agencies, and withholding the Securing the Cities grants that pay for critical nuclear detection capabilities in cities across the country; halting Research and Development work on countermeasures to devastating biological threats, on nuclear detection equipment, and on cargo and passenger screening technologies; crippling FEMA’s preparations for future disasters, furloughing 22 percent of FEMA personnel; and ending FEMA training activities with local law enforcement for Weapons of Mass Destruction events.

H.R. 861, the bill introduced by Democrats and co-sponsored by Congressman Langevin earlier today, would avert a shutdown and provide long-term funding to the Department of Homeland Security.

“It is the responsibility of Congress to address comprehensive immigration reform, but tying it to this DHS funding bill is irresponsible and reckless on the part of House Republicans,” Langevin continued. “Let's tackle homeland security funding first to avoid another manufactured crisis, and then we can come together for an honest, thoughtful debate on immigration.”

Additional comments by Congressman Langevin on possible shutdown of DHS on February 28

In a brief telephone interview before leaving for a congressional meeting, Congressman Langevin spoke with GSN and expanded on the unwanted consequences that will take place going forward with a Continuing Resolution for the next year -- and have in fact already begun to have a very negative effect in a number of critical security areas.

“The security challenges to the country have never been more severe,” said the Congressman. “Now is not the time to be shutting down or not properly funding the agency that is charged with the primary responsibility of keeping the homeland safe.

“I’m hoping my Republican colleagues will come to their senses.

The Republicans in the House are sending messages that are red meat for their Tea Party base. They’re not doing what’s in the best interest of the country. The reality is, what they’re proposing is not going to work. If they feel that strongly, they should bring up the things they don’t like in a bill that deals with the specific issues. Basically, they’re playing political games, using a funding bill as a vehicle to attack the President’s immigration policy at the expense of keeping the country safe.”

Congressman Langevin pointed out that “what the Democrats are calling for is just to pass what was already agreed upon in a non-partisan way. The funding level had already been agreed upon, he indicated. “We had a Continuing Resolution until the end of last year. What’s happened since then has already impacted the government in a negative way. It has impeded new hiring, new projects and grants to states, cities and towns across the country.

Looking forward, he said, “Defunding the DHS would hinder our ability to respond to cyber threats described by the National Cyber Center. It would prevent $546 million to be spent on unaccompanied children at the border. It would prevent a security upgrade at the White House and the $2.6 billion grand to funding cities and states.

“A full year of this Continuing Resolution would prevent the hiring of 207 new ICE officers. These are the real consequences of a Continuing Resolution through the year.”

http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/43871?c=communications

“If Republicans are serious about border security and guarding against potential terrorist attacks, then they have to demonstrate that with actions, and that should not include holding hostage the agency that leads our efforts to keep America safe,” said Langevin, who is also a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. “This is a distraction, and I call on my colleagues to vote on a clean DHS spending bill before time runs out. We must act quickly to ensure our country and its people are kept safe.”

“I’m hoping my Republican colleagues will come to their senses.

The Republicans in the House are sending messages that are red meat for their Tea Party base. They’re not doing what’s in the best interest of the country. The reality is, what they’re proposing is not going to work. If they feel that strongly, they should bring up the things they don’t like in a bill that deals with the specific issues. Basically, they’re playing political games, using a funding bill as a vehicle to attack the President’s immigration policy at the expense of keeping the country safe.”

So who got to your pockets? How dare you accuse Republicans who are doing the only thing we can to stop this disaster of "playing political games" and "holding hostage the agency that leads the efforts to keep America safe"? Safe from what? Illegal aliens who want to fly planes into buildings? Illegal aliens who want to steal our jobs? Illegal aliens who want to run illegal drugs? Illegal aliens who want to kill our citizens? Illegal aliens who want to defraud our welfare, tax and healthcare institutions?

Illegal immigration is the greatest threat there is to the national security of our nation, and stopping it is the greatest obligation we have as Americans. Refusing to fund the Agency that has failed to stop illegal immigration, that has ignored our laws, that has schemed and plotted with drug cartels, foreign funded 501 C 3's, and traitors in the agency, executive branch and yes, Congress as well, to execute more illegal amnesties is the ONLY RIGHT thing to do for the national security of the United States and the American People.

How dare you attack Republicans for doing the ONLY RIGHT thing to stop this invasion and grind these illegal acts by the Executive Branch to a halt? This is not a nation of cowards so afraid of mysterious unknown unidentified "terror" threats that we will ignore the real ones we face every day.

So again, who filled up your wallet this week?

Shame on you, shame, shame, shame.