Republican and Democratic senators vented their frustrations Wednesday with the lack of progress in funding the Department of Homeland Security, which is resulting in more Americans enduring long lines at airports around the country. It's a problem that is expected to intensify as the impasse enters its fourth week.
Democrats stressed they were willing to fund some of DHS, but not Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection, without changes in their operations. Republicans made clear that some of the Democratic demands were a non-starter. The result was that each party blocked the other's proposal for temporarily resolving the standoff during an hours long debate on the Senate floor.
The stark divide over a shutdown that began on Feb. 14 was acknowledged by members on both sides of the political aisle.
“We are in a negotiation. However, we are not close,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said at one point. “You may think this is some issue that we think we’re going to turn to our political advantage, but I promise you, when we saw Renee Good and Alex Pretti killed, this became an issue that was beyond politics.”
“And there are a lot of us who are not going to provide resources to this agency that is acting in such a ways that makes citizens of the United States so unsafe.”
Some Republicans were just as adamant that they oppose some of the changes Democrats are seeking to make.
“Let me be clear, we are going to do nothing — nothing — that kneecaps ICE’s ability to enforce our immigrations laws,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Following the longest federal shutdown in the country’s history last year, Congress completed work on 11 of this year’s 12 appropriations bills. Only the bill for Homeland Security remains outstanding.
Democrats are seeking several changes at the department that include prohibiting ICE enforcement operations at sensitive locations like schools and churches, allowing independent investigations into alleged wrongdoing, requiring warrants to be signed by judges before federal agents can forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent, and requiring agents to wear identification and remove their masks.
A push for more talks
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said his side has made repeated overtures to Democrats on a funding bill. He said the last offer on Homeland Security funding came from the White House nearly two weeks ago and there has been no response from the Democrats.
“Usually, around here, in order to get a deal, there has to be a negotiation where the two sides sit down together,” Thune said. “And my understanding is that has been completely rebuffed by the senator from Washington.”
The senator Thune was referring to, Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she's continued to talk with Republican colleagues, but those aren't “real negotiations.” The White House needs to be at the table for that to occur. She said she needed assurance that Stephen Miller, the influential White House deputy chief of staff, would not upend any agreements that senators reach.
“I am willing to talk to people, but I'm not willing to sit in a room, have coffee, give away a few things and have Stephen Miller override whatever we all agree to,” Murray said. “ … We need to know the White House is serious.”
DHS has been central to President Donald Trump's sweeping changes in immigration enforcement. Under Trump, the number of people ICE arrests and detains each month has climbed dramatically. The tactics that ICE has employed have generated alarm among Democrats, and some Republicans have also called for a more “strategic” approach.
During bipartisan negotiations earlier this year, appropriators agreed to a DHS funding bill that did include more resources for de-escalation training and $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras. But that deal unraveled after the Pretti shooting in Minneapolis.
“My side was not going to stand down and say, ‘oh well, nothing happened,’” Murray said.
For the second time in two weeks, Murray offered a proposal to fund all of DHS except for ICE and Customs and Border Protection, but Republicans objected.
Similarly, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., offered a proposal to fund all of DHS for two weeks so that federal workers could get paid and government operations could continue while the two sides negotiate their differences on immigration enforcement. This time, Democrats objected.
The result was the standoff continues, but lawmakers were at least talking to each other, perhaps one small sign of progress.
The large majority of the more than 260,000 employees at DHS continue to work but are going unpaid. It's the second time in recent months they've had to work without pay after last fall's record, 43-day shutdown. The most visible sign of the shutdown has been a shortage of Transportation Security Administration screeners at airports.
Houston’s secondary airport weathered the worst problems, with lines consistently lasting over three hours for much of Sunday and Monday. Passengers also had to wait more than an hour to get through security at several other airports, including in New Orleans and Atlanta.
DHS in a social media post Wednesday blamed Democrats for a shutdown that “has led to HOURS long security lines at airports across the country, leading Americans to miss their spring break flights.”
Trade groups are also worried about the economic impact of the travel delays. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called on Congress to quickly approve a funding bill and end the department's shutdown.
“Blocking operational funding and paychecks for those who help us travel safely is wrong and strains the air travel system,” said Neil Bradley, the business group's executive vice president and chief policy officer.
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