On the recordFebruary 12, 2015
I, too, rise to urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question on the rule so it can be amended to make in order House consideration of H.R. 861, the clean, bipartisan Homeland Security Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2015. As we have been reminded by previous speakers, today is February 12, 135 days into fiscal year 2015, and there are only 16 days remaining until the current CR expires. Of these days, the House is scheduled to be in session only 5. If some of my colleagues have a sense of deja vu when they hear that, I can sympathize. I get the same feeling when I wake up each morning and find that Congress is still spinning its wheels on a full-year funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. I know some of my colleagues believe the onus to act now lies with the Senate, as we have heard. I agree, the Senate should act. While it has had multiple failed attempts to bring up the House bill containing the poison pill riders, the Senate Republican leadership has not tried to bring up the clean, bipartisan funding bill. I feel confident that a majority of the Senate would support the bill without the poison pill riders added to the House on the floor. There is only one way to find out. The real question is why isn't the House Republican leadership willing to bring the clean Homeland Security bill for a vote? Why wait? Why not take the initiative and make H.R. 861 in order today?…
