On the recordMarch 2, 2015
There is a letter from me sitting on your desk today asking you to pass a clean funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. All Democrats in the House have introduced and cosponsored a clean bill, and the Republican-controlled Senate has passed one as well. Mr. Speaker, clause 2 of House rule XXI prohibits inclusion of language ``changing existing law,'' commonly referred to as the prohibition on legislating on appropriations bills; yet that is why the House comes in today facing another deadline that puts our national security and DHS workforce at risk--because we are trying to legislate through appropriations. I am completely in favor of the deliberative process by which this body is supposed to conduct itself, and, while I support the President's executive action on immigration reform, I would also support a robust debate on it in this House. However, you know as well as I do that forcing this debate through holding hostage the funding of a critical component of our Nation's security is not the proper way to go about having this debate. At the beginning of the 114th Congress, you wrote an op-ed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell entitled ``Now We Can Get Congress Going.'' That is what I wrote to you and urged you to do today, Mr. Speaker. Let's pass a clean DHS funding bill and get going with the tough legislative choices that we have to make this year. ____________________
