Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to this extreme MAGA measure. The 260,000 dedicated men and women who served honorable on the frontlines protecting our Nation's borders, skies, waterways, and critical infrastructure are watching the House with great anxiety. They are just days away from being told that they will have to work indefinitely without pay or alternatively, will not be able to work at all and support their households. And when they turn their eyes to this chamber, what do they see? And what are House Republicans doing about it? Are they taking decisive action to forestall the devastating impact of the shutdown on DHS' ability to carry out its vital missions? Regrettably, no.

Instead, consumed by infighting, they have decided to rally around an extreme MAGA DHS funding bill that will most certainly never be transmitted to the Senate. Yes, you heard that right. With the passage of the rule, at the conclusion of consideration of H.R. 4367, the Speaker will set aside this bill until H.R. 2, the ``Child Deportation Act'' is enacted. H.R. 2 will never be law.

Forcing the House to engage in prolonged debate on dozens and dozens of extreme MAGA amendments instead of a continuing resolution to avert a catastrophic government shutdown is a terrible waste of the little time we have. The most extreme wing of the Republican party has hijacked what was supposed to be an orderly appropriations process.

House Republicans go on and on about wanting to save money but they pay little mind to the hundreds of millions of dollars in costs, lost revenue, and late fees associated with shutting down and restarting the government. The U.S. travel sector alone is projecting economic losses in excess of $140 million a day during this impending shutdown.

House Republicans say they care about the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol yet are asking them to work without knowing when their next paycheck will come. A government shutdown will negatively impact the Department of Homeland Security's ability to address everything from cybersecurity threats posed by China to supporting disaster preparedness at the local level.

Mr. Chair, we do not have enough time to get into all the damaging effects of the forthcoming shutdown on DHS. They are too numerable. I will, instead, use my remaining time to talk about House Republicans' proposed Homeland Security funding bill. It is so loaded with hyper- partisan culture war nonsense that l almost don't know where to begin.

H.R. 4367 includes policy riders to restrict inspections on immigration detention centers to ensure that facilities that they want to fill to the rafters are providing appropriate care. Catering to the fringe elements in their base, it prohibits gender-affirming care for immigrants held in detention and slashes funding from critically- important oversight offices intended to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of Americans.

Mr. Chair, my Republican colleagues assert that their extreme MAGA bill would give more money than ever, but they have little interest in ensuring that that oversight mechanism are actually funded to make sure the money is not wasted. l urge my colleagues to vote against this toxic, short-sighted, and needlessly cruel bill.

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