I stand here this morning as a member of the Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Our subcommittee is responsible for setting and overseeing funding for the operations of the Department of Homeland Security. In 2 days. on February 27. astoundingly. funding for the Department of Homeland Security runs out because the Republican majority cant agree on a bill due to their internal disagreements on the immigration provisions which are contained in the same bill because it is in the same Department. Although a clean funding bill. H.R. 861. could quickly be brought to this House floor for a vote to fund the entire Department for the remainder of this fiscal year. Republicans have defaulted to the rightwing extremists in their own party and instead have chosen to hold the security of our Nation hostage in order to contort the legislative process. They would defund the Presidents immigration executive order merely because they want a partisan win more than they want to govern. What a tragedy. To quote an editorial from yesterdays Washington Post: "The fervor of Republican partisanship. especially in the House. is immune to logic beyond an insistence on victory at any cost." This is a Republican Party that just a year and a half ago shut our Nations government down for 16 days. stopping critical services and doing significant harm to the U.S. economy. then. too. they seemed more interested in a political win than responsible governance. Recall. their party also had the opportunity last Congress to bring a bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill to the floor for a vote but declined to act. They have chosen not to address a concern that an overwhelming number of Americans believe needs to be resolved. There are grave consequences for forcing the Department of Homeland Security into a shutdown.
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immigration