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 today 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."

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[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."