72 Days into Republican Shutdown, DeLauro Calls for House Passage of Senate Homeland Security Funding Bill
WASHINGTON – Today, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro called for the House to immediately vote on the Senate-passed Homeland Security funding bill and end the third Republican shutdown of the year.
In a letter to her colleagues, DeLauro wrote: “The fastest way to ensure Secret Service, Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency personnel are paid is for the Speaker to stop playing games and put the Senate bill on the House floor.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary has indicated that the $10 billion slush fund currently used to pay DHS personnel will run out at the end of the month. Without congressional action, personnel will miss a paycheck beginning on May 22.
The full text of the letter is below. A PDF copy is available here.
Dear Democratic Colleague,
As you know, today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains shut down due to a lapse in appropriations that began on February 14, 2026 – 72 days ago. This is the third Republican shutdown this year.
Earlier this month, the Administration issued a memorandum to pay DHS workers during the lapse using $10 billion from a slush fund provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Since then, all 280,000 Department personnel have been paid. The Secretary has now indicated the slush fund will run out at the end of this month. I expect DHS personnel will receive their next paycheck in early May, but because DHS is running out of the $10 billion slush fund, without congressional action personnel will miss a paycheck beginning on May 22.
On two occasions the Senate unanimously passed a bill funding all of DHS other than Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. On April 1, Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune stated “In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department.” Twenty-seven days later, the Speaker has failed to act.
The fastest way to ensure Secret Service, Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency personnel are paid is for the Speaker to stop playing games and put the Senate bill on the House floor. He said he would do so “in the coming days” on April 1, but has instead needlessly allowed the shutdown to continue. If the House were to vote on the Senate bill, it would pass with widespread Democratic support, and the shutdown would end for all except ICE and Border Patrol – who received $140 billion in reconciliation already.
If House Republicans cared about funding the components of DHS that are not ICE or Border Patrol, they would have put the Senate-passed bill on the floor and sent it to the President the day it cleared the Senate. Instead, Speaker Johnson refused to allow a vote.
There is no reason for the Secret Service and other law-abiding components of DHS to be shut down. The House should immediately vote on the Senate-passed bill.
Sincerely,
Rosa L. DeLauro
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