Mitch Perry
In Washington, members of Congress are in full attack mode about who is to blame for the fact that the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) could lose its funding in two weeks.
Tampa Bay area Representative Kathy Castor today cosponsored H.R. 861, a bill that would prevent a Feb. 28 shutdown of the DHS, the agency charged with keeping America safe.
“There are only 16 calendar days until the Department of Homeland Security shuts down due to House Republican obstruction, and Congress is not scheduled to be in session next week,” Castor said in a statement. “Meanwhile, America and DHS must remain vigilant and focused on threats to our security here at home. Congressional Republicans are making that very hard to do as the days count down with no end in sight. DHS is responsible for aviation and border security, emergency response, cybersecurity, and chemical facility oversight to name a few of its important missions in keeping America safe.”
But House Republicans blame Senate Democrats for the intransigence. On Wednesday, in what has been described as a rare display of anger, House Speaker John Boehner flatly declared that Senate Democrats “get off their ass” and pass a bill.
But Senate Democrats are resisting the bill that the Republican House passed that stands before them, insisting that it be a “clean” bill, stripped of the GOP riders targeting President Obama’s executive actions regarding immigration.
Last month the GOP-led House voted to overturn President Barack Obama’s executive actions he announced last fall on immigration, approving legislation that would eliminate new deportation protections for millions and expose hundreds of thousands of younger immigrants to expulsion.
That bill would provide nearly $40 billion to finance the Homeland Security Department through the rest of the budget year.
But the Republicans are in a bind in that some Senators don’t like the bill as is, and they fear that they’ll be blamed if the DHS gets shutdown. That’s despite the fact that the Republicans say a shutdown will be on Senate Democrats hands, since they are refusing to vote for the bill that would fund DHS sitting in front of them. On Wednesday, House Republicans unanimously voted to block consideration of a clean bill to fund DHS as demanded by Democrats.
Castor is blaming the impasse on the GOP.
“If Republicans insist upon shutting down aviation security, it is certain to have an effect on Florida travel and tourism and our improving economy,” she says. “International travel, border crossings and our transportation systems must be protected and not thrown into chaos.”
The Hill reported this afternoon that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has filed a motion to hold additional votes to end a Democratic filibuster of the bill, setting up as many as three more attempts. The votes are expected to take place the last week of February, as Congress will be out of town next week for a recess.
