DeLauro Introduces Government Funding Bill
WASHINGTON – Today, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) introduced a bill to fully fund every agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Office of the Secretary.
"We need major reforms at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats are fighting for popular reforms: requiring agents to get a warrant from a judge before kicking in your door, preventing U.S. citizens from being detained or deported, stopping agents from camping out at schools, hospitals, and churches, requiring the use of body cameras, removing the masks, presenting identification on uniforms, allowing independent investigations into misconduct, establishing a legally binding use-of-force policy, and ending the roving patrols that harass bystanders based on their race are all reforms backed by a strong majority of Americans. These policies are supported by the vast majority of Americans and are necessary to protect our communities.
“Republicans know this. They must not withhold federal disaster assistance, cybersecurity readiness, and the paychecks of thousands of federal workers who follow the law.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot be abolished, but I will not provide a single dime of funding until we see radical changes in how it operates. If Republican leadership blocks this legislation from moving forward, they are responsible for any shuttered agencies, furloughed workers, missed paychecks, or reduced services.”
The measure provides full-year funding for:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Disaster Relief Fund
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- U.S. Coast Guard
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- U.S. Secret Service
- Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)
- Science & Technology Directorate (S&T)
- Office of Inspector General (OIG)
- Federal Protective Service
In addition to a variety of other programs within the DHS funding bill that are not related to ICE or CBP.
The bill excludes ICE and CBP from DHS’s transfer authority, meaning funds cannot be transferred to those agencies. Additionally, it would prohibit Secretary Noem from using two luxury private jets she procured when the government was shut down in October of last year, at a cost of nearly $200 million to the taxpayer, reserving them for use by the Coast Guard.
Due to the lack of a serious response from Republicans to Democratic demands to reform ICE, there is no way to reach a full-year agreement on ICE and CBP prior to DHS funding running out on Saturday. The bill would allow law-abiding components of DHS to receive funding for the remainder of the year to prevent them from shutting down, while separate negotiations on ICE and CBP reforms continue. This bill simply protects aviation security, disaster preparedness and response, cyber security, and the Coast Guard while Democrats continue to fight for major reforms to ICE and CBP.
Full text of the bill can be found here.
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