Dear Majority Leader McConnell:
As we rapidly approach the date on which the Department of Homeland Security’s funding expires, and as law enforcement officials face major threats to our nation’s safety and security, we write with one simple request: work with us to pass a clean bill that funds Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The House bill cannot pass the Senate. Democratic Leader Harry Reid has called for a clean funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The President has also made clear that he will veto any bill that expressly limits his authority to exercise prosecutorial discretion on immigration matters. While we agree our current immigration system needs comprehensive reform, including border security enhancements, this appropriations bill is not the place for this debate.
In light of recent events in Paris, Ottawa and Australia, the threat of ISIS and the proliferation of foreign fighters that return home radicalized, DHS funding should not be tied to divisive political issues that could jeopardize this critical funding.
We are now four months into the fiscal year. A series of short-term continuing resolutions to fund DHS should be off the table. Secretary Jeh Johnson has noted that if DHS continues to operate on CRs, counterterrorism efforts will be limited, border security initiatives and grants to state and local law enforcement will go unfunded, and aviation security efforts will be hampered.
Every day, new threats emerge that endanger our citizens at home and our allies abroad. We should not cast doubt on future funding for the Department of Homeland Security at a time when the entire nation should be marshalling collective resources to defend against terrorism. Uncertainty undermines security.
Last December, House and Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan agreement on a bill to fund DHS for the entire fiscal year. The best way to provide certainty and stability for the men and women who fulfill DHS’s mission to protect the United States from harm is to immediately schedule a vote so that this compromise bill can become law.
We know that you share our desire to keep our nation safe in these dangerous times, and we thank you for considering our request.
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
