(Washington, DC) Congresswoman Brown made the following statement regarding the meager three week extension of funding for the Department of Homeland Security put forward today by House Republicans:
“I strongly believe that House Republicans need to revisit the oath of office they took when they were first elected to Congress:
‘I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God’ (5 U.S.C. §3331).
“Beyond a doubt, the proposal put forth by the House Appropriations Committee today miserably fails one of our country’s most necessary security programs and puts our nation in dire jeopardy. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is vital to protect our country on all fronts, and we must do what is necessary to ensure the safety of our nation. To allow the House Republican legislation to move forward would put America and our families at grave risk at a time when we face broad threats at home and abroad. Indeed, America cannot afford a lapse in funding for DHS, and it is critical that we restore certainty in funding immediately. I strongly urge Republicans leaders to take responsible action and pass a clean bill to fund DHS without delay.
In the words of Republican Senator Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, ‘as a governing party, we’ve got to fund D.H.S. and say to the House, Here’s a straw so you can suck it up…this battle should be the end of the strategy of attaching whatever you’re upset at the president to a vital piece of government.’
Moreover, recent terrorist episodes add urgency to the need to keep the department functioning seamlessly. As Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said, ‘ISIS appears to have money, terrorists appear to have money, (so) why shouldn’t our homeland have the ability to protect itself?’
Certainly, a DHS shutdown would furlough or deny pay to 16,575 law enforcement officials, disaster response officials, and many other DHS personnel in Florida alone. And despite dire warnings from Members of their own Party, House Republicans voted to block a clean funding bill that could keep our communities safe. Our national security is too important and the world is far too dangerous for the Republican Congress to play these irresponsible, reckless games. Even the Republican controlled Senate passed a clean funding bill, yet House Republicans have chosen to keep gambling with America’s homeland security.
Without action, the bulk of DHS’s management and support of the homeland security infrastructure that was built following the 9/11 terrorist attacks would be shuttered. Law enforcement officials, border patrol agents, disaster response officials, counterterrorism experts and other DHS personnel that help keep our nation safe would either be furloughed or required to work without pay.
Consequences of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security include: closing the DHS Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which would no longer alert and coordinate with local law enforcement agencies, and withholding the Securing the Cities grants that pay for critical nuclear detection capabilities in cities across the country; halting Research and Development work on countermeasures to devastating biological threats, on nuclear detection equipment, and on cargo and passenger screening technologies; crippling FEMA’s preparations for future disasters, furloughing 22 percent of FEMA personnel; and ending FEMA training activities with local law enforcement for Weapons of Mass Destruction events.
Providing funding to the Department of Homeland Security is essential to keeping our nation safe and defending our citizens from nefarious threats such as the one posed by the three people arrested this week. And the Republican Party’s holding the security of our homeland hostage is irresponsible, dangerous, and inconsistent with their oath of office pledge to protect and defend America and to keep U.S. citizens safe.”
