Speech #1140005791

That is the key word in its title-" security." Americans fear more deeply than ever before that their security is threatenedeconomic security by stagnating incomes. foreign security as the world becomes more volatile and unpredictable and more threatening. and domestic security as threats abroad metastasize within our own borders. Many people equate the concept of security at home or homeland security with protection against extreme violence from abroad. violent extremism spawning from abroad and in fact stopping those threats. Finding the wrongdoers and stopping them is one of the major tasks the Department of Homeland Security has. but it has a myriad of additional responsibilities that include aiding the victims of natural disasters and extreme weather. citizenship and immigration. routinely handling matters that involve legitimate applications for visas for entry into the United States. and it fights the scourge of human trafficking. I am privileged to have a Caucus on Human Trafficking with my colleague Senator ROB PORTMAN. So I know it forms a diverse collection of responsibilities that are crucial to security. In fact. the Department of Homeland Securitys responsibilities are comprehensiveso much so that it is simply unacceptable to play politics with its crucial mission. It is irresponsible to hold its funding hostage in a dangerous game of fiscal chicken and threaten daily activities that are vital to Americas present and future security. That is why we are here. because some of my friends across the aisle believe stopping the President from exercising discretion on certain immigration issues affecting specific individuals in this country is worth hamstringing and undercutting the entire Department of Homeland Security and forcing an enormous amount of its vital work to grind to a halt. That is the game of chicken we have. The President is expected to relent if the Department of Homeland Security is stopped from functioning. but it is a game that has no place in this Chamber or in this government. We can agree or disagree with the President. and I disagree with the Department of Homeland Security on certain of its policies. for example. on detaining children which it has done routinely on a grandiose scale. I have included an amendment in the measure for immigration reform that passed the Senate. It would stop it from detaining childrena practice I consider shameful and unacceptableand I have a long list of other changes I would like to see made in DHS policies. But the way to effectuate those changes in my view is not to withhold funding to stop DHS in its tracks of providing security for the American people. it is to amend the laws to persuade our colleagues to undertake the legislative process and to appeal ultimately to the court of public opinion which can render a verdict far more powerful than the tactics involved here.