Political Quotes

On the recordMarch 25, 2026
And so there are going to be two proposals by my colleague. And in response to one, I am going to suggest that we free TSA as a hostage. TSA, right now, we are seeing hundreds of TSA agents quit because they are not being paid. We have seen thousands call in and say: I am not available for work today. They are probably sick from the stress of not receiving paychecks. We can alleviate that completely for the rest of this entire year--this entire fiscal year--with a proposal I will put forward in a moment. And then if my colleague has another proposal, well, we will consider that as well, but I will probably put forward a suggestion that we do all 26 weeks for TSA and FEMA and the Coast Guard and Cybersecurity. See, the debate where pushes come to shove is over ICE and CBP, and it is because of the rules of engagement under which they have acted have been so extraordinarily aggressive, terrorizing our communities. So the conversation still remains and is underway about ICE and CBP and the reforms.
Said by
Jeff Merkley
Democratic · Oregon

Editor's note · Context

Discussing proposals to address TSA funding and the impact of pay issues on TSA agents.

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