Thune: Democrats Put Politics Ahead of Key DHS Priorities and Agency Employees

Majority Leader | Remark | Remarks | THE NEWSROOM | Repub...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMRemarks03.05.26Thune: Democrats Put Politics Ahead of Key DHS Priorities and Agency Employees“If Democrats were really interested in putting reforms in place, they’d be doing everything they can to get a bill.” Click here to watch the video.WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):“Mr. President, it’s another Thursday here in the Senate.“And it should be just another payday for employees at the Department of Homeland Security.“But thanks to Democrats’ shutdown, a lot of DHS employees are only receiving a partial paycheck today.“Democrats will have an opportunity to fix that this afternoon.“Republicans will again try to pass legislation to fund DHS so employees can get paid and DHS can operate at full capacity.“But I suspect Democrats will once again oppose this commonsense measure.“And having kept DHS shut down now for three weeks and counting, Democrats will once again leave Washington today and head to the airport – where they will walk past some of the 50,000 TSA agents who are missing part of their pay because of Senate Democrats.“One TSA agent told CNN recently, and I quote, ‘You’re going to see TSA officers in the food bank lines in a couple of days,’ and he noted that several of his colleagues have taken out payday loans.“And it’s not just TSA.“Civilian Coast Guard employees, FEMA employees, cybersecurity professionals, and others are missing pay because of Democrats’ shutdown.“Mr. President, like Democrats’ first shutdown a few months ago, this shutdown is causing a lot of financial stress, uncertainty, and pain for hardworking Americans.“It’s also making it harder for those working to keep America safe.“Right now, less than half of the Americans who work for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are on the job.“Think about that.“The rest have been furloughed, and the agency has had to cancel vulnerability checks on certain infrastructure.“Now, you’d think that that might raise some concern among Democrats, especially given the current threat environment.“But apparently it doesn’t.“The FEMA Go system – which is how state and local governments and other grantees access funding that they’ve been awarded – is offline.“So grantees can’t access the funds that they need for critical programs in their communities.“Officials report that the Disaster Relief Fund is being ‘rapidly depleted,’ which jeopardizes our ability to support disaster recovery efforts and respond to future emergencies. “And a number of American cities that are hosting World Cup games in a few months are concerned about funding for security preparations being frozen due to Democrats’ shutdown. “Mr. President, this is the second time in six months that Democrats have subjected thousands of workers to the pain and uncertainty of a government shutdown.“And like their record-setting 43-day shutdown in the fall, this DHS shutdown is entirely unnecessary.“Just to review, Mr. President, we had a bipartisan agreement in January that included deescalation training for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as $20 million for body cameras for ICE officers.“When Democrats decided that wasn’t enough, Republicans and the White House agreed to reopen negotiations.“We understood that negotiations take time, and we wanted to ensure that federal employees would not be impacted by this ongoing work.“So we suggested a temporary funding extension for several weeks to allow the negotiations to continue.“Democrats insisted on no more than two – two – weeks.“And when those two weeks came and went without an agreement, we tried to get another temporary extension through.“Again, Democrats blocked it.“And here we are, three weeks later, and Democrats apparently don’t care that a whole lot of federal employees are working without pay. “Federal employees, I might add, who have nothing to do – nothing to do – with immigration enforcement.“FEMA.“TSA.“Cybersecurity offices.“Mr. President, let’s be clear, this is not some principled stand by Democrats in the face of a refusal to negotiate.“Not at all.“Republicans are at the table – and have been for not for weeks.“The White House sent a very serious offer to Democrats almost a week ago.“It’s Democrats who don’t seem to be interested in reaching an agreement.“In fact, from where I stand, it’s looking a lot like Democrats just want to keep this alive as a political issue. “If Democrats were really interested in putting reforms in place, they’d be doing everything they can to get a bill.“But they’re not.“They’re interested in politics, not policy.“And if public safety ends up suffering as a result of their decision to shut down the Department of Homeland Security? If hardworking Americans have to go without paychecks?“Well, apparently that’s just fine with Senate Democrats.”PrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram