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House lawmaker urges passage of DHS funding bill to end partial government shutdown
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Summary
A lawmaker on the House floor urged colleagues to approve Department of Homeland Security funding, saying the partial shutdown is harming TSA and FEMA employees, disrupting trainings and flood-insurance processing, and risking national security; the speaker reserved time for further debate.
A lawmaker on the House floor urged colleagues to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security, saying the partial government shutdown is harming frontline federal workers and national security.
The lawmaker, speaking during floor debate, said the bill before the chamber "isn't new" and noted it had been debated two months earlier. The speaker described the measure as reflecting "the bipartisan bicameral agreement" and asserted that "senate Democrats, at the last minute, failed to honor" that deal — a characterization presented as the speaker's statement rather than an independently established fact.
The lawmaker framed the argument around the human cost of the shutdown, saying it does not punish political leaders but "they are punishing the TSA agents" and "they're punishing FEMA employees" who are working without pay. The speaker said "hundreds of thousands of federal employees in critical national security positions are being forced to work without pay," phrasing the figure as the lawmaker's account rather than a verified count.
Recalling recent testimony at an appropriations hearing, the lawmaker said TSA acting director McNeil told the committee about agents "sleeping in their cars in the airport parking lot" and taking second jobs or selling blood plasma to afford basic expenses. The lawmaker used those anecdotes to underline the personal hardship faced by transportation and homeland-security personnel.
The speaker warned of operational effects, saying in-person trainings at the National Fire Academy, the National Emergency Training Center, the Center for Domestic Preparedness and the National Disaster and Emergency Management University had been canceled. The lawmaker also said the FEMA disaster relief fund has a low balance and that "there will be no new national flood insurance policies processed impacting Americans buying homes," attributing both claims to the shutdown's effects.
On workforce pay, the lawmaker contrasted Coast Guard service members — who the speaker said had received their most recent check — with civilian Department of Homeland Security personnel who were working without pay, and said homeland security investigators handling illicit activity were "not moving forward." The speaker urged colleagues "to vote yes to end this shutdown and to keep our nation safe."
The lawmaker then reserved the balance of their time, leaving the floor debate open for further remarks and votes. The transcript does not record a subsequent vote or outcome for the DHS funding measure.
