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Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, let me first thank Senator Carper for his
comments on the need for us to pass a homeland security appropriations
bill.
I think our constituents would be surprised to learn that we have not
passed an appropriations bill that funds for this fiscal year the
Department of Homeland Security, a critically important agency that
keeps us safe.
We know the challenges around the world. We know the challenges to
our homeland. Yet we haven't passed a full-year Homeland Security bill.
Instead, we have legislation that has come over from the House that is
more interested in picking political fights on immigration policy--when
we should be together on immigration policy--and holding up the funding
for Homeland Security.
I thank Senator Carper, who is the ranking Democrat on that
committee, for bringing to our attention that the best thing for us to
do is to take up the Shaheen-Mikulski bill, which is a clean
reauthorization of the appropriations for this year, so we can get
through this year, and then we can debate immigration on an immigration
bill, debate next year's budget on a budget bill, and not have the
politics of the House interfere with the funding for Homeland Security.
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