Providing for Consideration of H.R. 529, Section 529 College Savings Plans Amendments; Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5, Student Success Act; And for Other Purposes
Floor Speech
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Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this House to
immediately take up and pass a clean funding bill for the Department of
Homeland Security.
Delaying the full-year bill limits the Department's ability to
advance the Secretary's unity of effort initiative designed to improve
coordination in our security missions; limits the ability of the
Secretary to move ahead with the Southern Border and Approaches
Campaign; creates uncertainty regarding ICE's capacity to detain and
deport dangerous criminals; complicates the Department's ability to
deal with another influx of unaccompanied children at our border
stations; delays implementation of the new security upgrades at the
White House and hiring increases of the U.S. Secret Service; delays
terrorism preparedness, my colleagues, and response grants for State
and local public safety personnel and from fusion centers.
I understand that many of my colleagues on the other side of the
aisle feel quite strongly about the President's use of executive orders
on immigration policy; but do they have the courage of their
convictions to look the first responders they represent in the eye and
to tell them that they are holding up critical assistance to
firefighters, law enforcement, EMTs, and emergency managers because of
a fight that is ideological over immigration?
This is disgraceful. The Homeland Security bill should never have
been held hostage with only 3 days left until the Republican shutdown.
Hasn't this gone on long enough? Isn't it time to abandon this failed
strategy and pass a clean Homeland Security bill?
To that end, I urge this whole House to join me today in defeating
the previous question so that my colleague Mr. Hastings can offer an
amendment to provide a clean, full-year appropriations bill for the
Department of Homeland Security.
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