Xavier Becerra: “I thank the ranking member for yielding. To govern means to get things done. That is pretty simple, and quite honestly…”

“I thank the ranking member for yielding. To govern means to get things done. That is pretty simple, and quite honestly, that is about all the American people ask us to do on a daily basis: get things done. Instead of bringing a clean Homeland Security funding bill to the floor of this House, our colleagues on the Republican side have decided to put our Nation's security at risk and cater to some of the most radical views in their party. It is stunning that only a week after the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris, we are standing here on the floor of the House of Representatives talking about attempts to make it more difficult for the Department of Homeland Security in the United States of America to defend our Nation. A good bill--and we have heard this, Republicans and Democrats alike say that the underlying bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security is a good one; it is just all the poison pill amendments that have been forced into this bill. So a good bill to fund our government's Homeland Security and all of its obligations will come before us and become a victim of what has become known as shutdown partisan politics. What is at stake? Border protection, customs enforcement, transportation security, Coast Guard protection, Secret Service protection, emergency management in the event of an attack or a natural or manmade disaster--all put in jeopardy to play partisan politics.…”