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 NEWSROOMRemarks02.12.26Thune on DHS Funding: The Ball Is in Democrats’ Court“Are [Democrats] going to shut down the Department of Homeland Security - which would be their second shutdown this fiscal year? Or are they going to allow for the time to negotiate with the White House and get agreement on a final 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, Homeland Security appropriations expire tomorrow.“And there are concerning signs that Democrats are prepared to walk away from the table and allow funding for critical Homeland Security agencies to expire.“Funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.“The TSA.“The Coast Guard.“Cybersecurity.“And more.“Mr. President, I want to take just a moment to review how we got here.“Because it was a mere three weeks ago, we had a bipartisan agreement on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill.“Bipartisan, Mr. President.“Both House and Senate Democrats had signed off.“That bipartisan agreement included additional funding for body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.“It included funding for deescalation training for ICE.“And it included additional oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol spending.“We were all set to pass this bill.“And then Democrats reneged on the agreement.“And so, here we are.“Circumstances changed, I understand that.“But some Democrats were already signaling they were prepared to walk away from the deal before the most recent events in Minneapolis even transpired.“So Democrats wanted to reopen negotiations.“Despite our bipartisan agreement, Republicans agreed to their request for additional time to consider this bill before final passage.“Democrats wanted two weeks.“Republicans warned – I warned at the time – that more time would be needed – that it would be almost impossible to come to an agreement and pass a renegotiated bill in that timeframe.“But Democrats insisted.“And to prevent them from shutting down a large portion of the federal government, Republicans agreed to their request.“Unfortunately, once they got their two-week agreement, Democrats showed little urgency when it came to negotiations.“It took them more than a week to come up with a list of demands.“They didn’t provide legislative text until this past weekend.“But now they have the gall to suggest that it’s Republicans who are slow-walking things.“Mr. President, the White House responded to Democrats’ list of demands within two days, and sent proposed legislative text over yesterday.“And it is an extremely serious offer. “On top of that, the White House has continued to show it’s committed to taking action on its own, with Tom Homan this morning announcing the withdrawal of almost all agents from Minnesota.“It’s clear, Mr. President, that the White House is serious.“But it’s increasingly looking like Democrats are not.“Now, I’m not sure if Democrats thought the White House would just accede to every one of their demands, or what, but they cannot reasonably expect to reach an agreement without actual negotiation with give and take from both sides.“We warned Democrats they were not allowing enough time for this process.“But they insisted on their two-week-timeframe CR anyway.“And now that we have been proven right, the onus is on Democrats to agree to an additional CR to allow time to complete the negotiations.“Unless, of course, Democrats are more interested in a political issue than they are in an actual outcome.“Because it’s starting to look like Democrats might not have been interested in actual reforms. “As I mentioned, they left an agreement on the table that would have provided for body cameras, deescalation training, and increased spending oversight.“And now, instead of allowing adequate time to negotiate on additional measures, they’re threatening to shut down the Department of Homeland Security – which will get them exactly zero changes to the status quo.“So what is it – what is it, Mr. President – that Democrats want?“Policy changes?“Or is it a political issue?“Mr. President, Democrats are never going to get their full wish list.“That’s not the way this works.“Republicans, for example, will not agree to measures that make it impossible … for law enforcement officers to do their jobs.“But Democrats can build on the measures that Republicans have already agreed to if they actually engage in serious negotiations with the White House.“So, Mr. President, the ball is in Democrats’ court.“Are they going to shut down the Department of Homeland Security – which would be their second shutdown this fiscal year?“Or are they going to allow for the time to negotiate with the White House and get agreement on a final bill?“That’s the question before the house, Mr. President.“We had a bill, negotiated carefully, that Democrats had signed off on – which, as I said, they reneged on.“Wanted to revisit it, more time to negotiate – which we agreed to.“We suggested at the time that probably four to six weeks would be an adequate amount of time in which to negotiate the changes, or some of the changes, the reforms, other things on top of the ones that have already been in the bill, that they want.“And they said two weeks.“They used over a week of that … to actually come up with their list of demands, to which the White House responded quickly.“And again, right now they are sitting, in front of them a counterproposal from the White House.“A reasonable, good faith offer, as I said.“So, the question, again, before the house, Mr. President, is, are they serious, or aren’t they?“Is this about politics, or is it about solutions?“I’d like to believe that we’re actually here to try and solve this problem and to fund the government – not just the Department of Homeland Security, but all the agencies of government that are covered in that bill.“To include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, TSA, Coast Guard, cyber security – those are all parts of this.“It’s pretty important stuff, Mr. President, I would argue.“The Democrats are going to have an opportunity later today to vote, not only on the bill as passed by the House – which they negotiated and then walked away from, which funds all these things I just mentioned – we will have that vote, and they will also have an opportunity to allow for an extension, for additional time, time which we all knew was going to be necessary to actually reach a final deal.“So it really is in their court.“And it’s not something that – you know, they can point fingers at the Republicans or the White House – these are all things, we have accommodated them literally in every way, in an attempt to try and reach an agreement that would, having been in good faith offered by the White House, to work with them to reach a deal that would satisfy some, if not all, but certainly address some of their concerns and demands, and do it in a way that keeps the government funded and keeps these important agencies operating.“That’s the question, and it’s really up to them.“So we’ll find out, I guess, later today the answer to that question, Mr. President.“But I would simply say that we will be voting to keep the federal government funded, to keep it open, to keep these important agencies so critical to the functioning of our federal government, and the employees who work there, who shouldn’t be held hostage in a government shutdown.“We will be voting today to keep all of those open with reforms – with reforms – to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the very thing the Democrats have said they wanted, then walked away from, and now are insisting that all the concessions that have been made by the White House to date aren’t adequate, and yet they aren’t willing to extend the time to continue the negotiations.“It’s really kind of an ironic position to be in, but they seem to have embraced it.“So, we’ll have the votes.”PrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
