Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) heard from the Port of Bellingham about how a lack of funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would affect airport staff, such as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

If Congress doesn’t act by February 27, nearly 50,000 TSA workers and more than 40,000 CBP agents across the country will have to work without pay.

“If funding for DHS is delayed, it will have a grave effect on Washington state’s economy as commerce grinds to a halt along the Canadian border,” DelBene said. “This is a reckless tactic, and I hope House leaders will work with Democrats to restore certainty by funding the Department of Homeland Security.”

DHS was excluded from the full-year “cromnibus” deal passed in December. Instead, the agency was funded only until February 27, because Republicans wanted to stop President Obama’s executive actions on immigration once they controlled both the House and Senate.

DelBene voted against a partisan bill that would result in the deportation of millions of DREAMers, who know no other home than the United States. She has written to Speaker Boehner requesting that he allow a vote on a clean DHS funding bill, such as H.R. 861, which she has cosponsored. The Senate has been unable to pass the House bill which included the poison-pill amendments.

“House leaders shouldn’t hold DHS funding hostage because they disagree with the President’s executive actions,” DelBene said. “We should be working on immigration reform and considering legislation after we fund DHS.”

DelBene has called on House leaders to take up comprehensive immigration reform instead of engaging in political brinksmanship that risks national security.

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, DelBene led efforts last year to enact Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform by introducing the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act (H.R. 15) in the House.

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