Tracey Mann: “I rise today because the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, and the consequences are real for the…”

“I rise today because the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, and the consequences are real for the American people and for the men and women who work every day to keep our country safe. Right now, more than 100,000 DHS employees are working without pay. TSA officers who screen passengers at our airports have now missed another paycheck. These are hardworking Americans who show up every day to do their job, protect travelers, and secure our homeland, even while Washington politics leave them without the pay they have earned. This isn't some distant issue for Kansans. Families and travelers across the Big First depend on TSA officers every single day. From airports in Manhattan, Salina, Garden City, Dodge City, Liberal, and Hays, TSA agents are on the front lines making sure our skies are safe. Just down the road in Wichita, the Air Capital of the World, thousands of Kansans build aircraft that carry passengers across the country and around the globe. Aviation is part of who we are in Kansas, and aviation safety is something we take very seriously. Yet, Senate Democrats have allowed the men and women responsible for securing our airports to work without pay. As spring-break travel picks up, airports across the country are already seeing longer lines and staffing challenges because of this shutdown.”