DeLauro to Rules Committee: “Republican leadership has opted once again for political theater.”

***WATCH: Ranking Member DeLauro’s full remarks***

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) delivered the following remarks at the House Rules Committee in opposition to Republicans’ political theater:

Thank you so much. And I want to thank the chair and Ranking Member McGovern and the members of the committee for the opportunity to testify this afternoon alongside my friend Chairman Cole.

We are here once again to discuss a piece of legislation that will not become law. It is the same piece of legislation that has already failed to become law several times. Republican leadership knows this bill will not become law. But rather than pursue serious solutions, Republican leadership has opted once again for political theater. This is three times, and in this instance, three times is not a charm.

It seems as though theatrics are all President Trump and Republican leadership can offer the American people. Instead of funding TSA, President Trump sent ICE agents with zero training in aviation security to roam around airports across the country, intimidating travelers, and doing absolutely nothing to reduce the lines at TSA checkpoints that are only getting longer and longer. 

You know, eighty-five percent of ICE and CBP agents are already being paid. This administration is picking and choosing whom they want to pay, and they do not want to pay TSA workers. They are holding these other employees hostage for political gain.

Before the shutdown began, I introduced a bill to fully fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, cybersecurity, the Secret Service, and more. But Republican leadership is blocking it from even receiving a vote, because it does not also fund ICE and CBP. 

Republican leadership refuses to support any measure that does not provide more funding for ICE and CBP. They will not pay TSA agents, unless we also fund ICE. They will not fund FEMA, unless we also fund ICE. They will not fund the Coast Guard, unless we also fund ICE. 

They will not fund any other part of the Department of Homeland Security, unless they also get more money for ICE and CBP without any of the protections against abuse by those agencies that the American people are demanding.

And I might just add, that in the reforms that were presented by the Democrats, there is nothing that the administration is talking about, about requiring to get a warrant from a judge before kicking down someone’s door. No masks, they refuse to say that people will not wear masks. The end of racial profiling, there’s a no. Establishing a use of force policy in law, no. Allow independent investigations into misconduct, no. Mandate the use of body worn cameras, no.

We are only two months removed from the murder of Alex Pretti, almost to the day. This administration is hoping that we and the American people will forget what caused this. That we will forget about the abuse, the harassment, the violence, and the chaos, simply because it is not in the news as much anymore. But they are wrong. These are our constituents. These are our communities. These protections are essential.

But Republican leadership are so opposed to any protections, that they refuse to pay these federal workers. And, astonishingly, they are crying out about the impacts of the lapse in funding.

Where were they when this administration proposed eliminating FEMA entirely? Where were they when the president proposed cutting cybersecurity by $500 million. Where were they when the President unilaterally eliminated collective bargaining rights for TSA workers? Where were they when Secretary Noem spent $20,000 to rent a horse so that she could use it in a TV ad? Where were they when she took money for the Coast Guard for two luxury airplanes? They were silent.

Last week, Democrats filed a discharge petition to force a vote on my bill that would fund TSA, pay those workers, and fund every other agency under DHS except ICE and CBP, while negotiations continue over reforms to those agencies.

There is no practical reason that TSA workers’ paychecks need to be tied to more funding for ICE and CBP. There is, however, a political reason: to gain the upper hand in negotiations over reforms to those agencies. Republican leadership are withholding the paychecks from these workers to exert leverage in those negotiations. That is wrong.

I know some of my Republican colleagues can see that that is wrong. I encourage them to sign on to our discharge petition.

I will speak for myself here, but people know I am not in favor of abolishing ICE. I believe we should reform it and create stronger guardrails against abuse, to keep our communities safe. However, I do not believe that while negotiations over those reforms play out, there is any need to shut down the rest of DHS. Let us pay the TSA officers, the FEMA employees, the cybersecurity experts, the Coast Guard, while negotiations over ICE and CBP continue on a separate track.

Republican leadership’s all-or-nothing approach is prolonging this shutdown. It is completely unnecessary. To my Republican colleagues in the rank-and-file, who I know have been hearing from their constituents about the wait times at airports, from federal workers going without paychecks, I invite you to sign on to this petition. 

If you have questions, come find me on the Floor, reach out to my office, you know how to get in touch with me. You can ask Chairman Cole, I am good to my word. Let us work together to fund the parts of DHS over which there is no controversy. We are on day 38 of this shutdown. It is long past time. Let us get it done.

I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, and I yield back.

Read Ranking Member DeLauro’s new fact sheet detailing how President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have been dismantling the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and making Americans less safe since day one.

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