Hoyer: Republicans Should Allow a Vote on Clean Legislation to Prevent a DHS Shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) spoke on the House Floor this afternoon to urge House Republicans to stop playing politics with our national security and to pass a clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security before the February 28 deadline. Below are excerpts and a link to the video:

Click here to watch.

"Mr. Speaker, we are approaching the eleventh hour, and the House has not yet been given the opportunity to vote on a bill that essentially was agreed to by the Republican Appropriations Committee – and reported to this Floor…. There was no debate on funding levels, Mr. Speaker. There was no debate on whether this provision and that provision should or should not be in the bill…. And then Republicans, Mr. Speaker – to accomplish another objective – have done what they said in the ‘Pledge to America' they would not do, and that is put two different issues in the same bill. Well, they put a poison pill in this bill.  And if we fail to act and send the President a bill he can and will sign – a bill free from partisan policy riders – then thousands of our Homeland Security agents will be furloughed and, almost, as I said, 200,000 others will be forced to work without pay.  Is that what America's come to? Surely not. The impact on our border security, law enforcement, homeland security will be serious and make our country more vulnerable to threats."

"Chairman Mike McCaul, the Republican who leads the House Committee on Homeland Security, said yesterday – Mr. Speaker, this is the Republican Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee – and I quote: ‘I fully believe we should not be playing politics with the national security agency like the Department of Homeland Security, particularly given the high threat environment that we're in right now.'"

"Senator Lindsey Graham, with whom I served in this body, who now represents South Carolina and is a Republican member of the Senate and an expert on national security, he told his Republican colleagues this – and, again, I quote:  ‘The worst possible outcome for this nation is to defund the Department of Homeland Security, given the multiple threats we face to our homeland.  And I will not be part of it.'" 

"None of us ought to be part of it. Four hundred thirty five of us ought to vote to fund the Homeland Security Department starting on Friday.  I urge the Republican Majority to heed this advice of Mr. McCaul, of Mr. Graham, and, frankly, countless other Republicans in the Senate and some in the House to do the responsible thing and let this House work its will on the single subject of our national security."

"If a clean Homeland Security appropriation bill were to come to the Floor, I am confident – and I tell my friend, the Majority Leader, Mr. Speaker – every Democrat will vote for it. We're 188 strong. Surely there are thirty responsible Republicans who care more about our national security than their politics who would join us in voting for that bill. I'm confident of that…. We would fund the Department of Homeland Security, and we could do it tomorrow."

"If the Majority is dissatisfied with our immigration policy, which they articulate and legitimately can have an alternative view to express and to try to enact, that's the democratic process. Offer a bill to change that which they do not like."

"I urge Republican leaders to keep their pledge to the American people to consider issues one at a time. Bring a comprehensive immigration reform bill. If you don't like what the President's done, bring a bill that changes that.  We have the power to do that.  Do it.  We can work in a bipartisan way to change our immigration policies through legislation and fix what everybody in this body believes is a broken system.  Bring a clean appropriation bill to the Floor to fund the Department of Homeland Security and then as well bring a bill to the Floor on comprehensive immigration reform – or the bill that our Republican friends think is the appropriate bill to fix a broken system, and we will debate and vote on that. But let the Department of Homeland Security do its job for America, for Americans, let's exercise responsible adult legislating this time."