Whip Clark: “Republicans Refuse To Take Yes for an Answer”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (CA-33) to denounce House Republicans' refusal to fund TSA, FEMA, CISA, and the Coast Guard. Below are excerpts of her remarks:
On House Republicans’ DHS Shutdown:
"There’s no reason for TSA to be shut down. There’s no reason for FEMA and our Coast Guard to still be unfunded. There’s no reason for travelers to be waiting in absurdly long lines.
"We could have voted — today, yesterday, last week, last month — to open every part of [the] Department of Homeland Security that actually keeps Americans secure. That’s what we’ve been fighting for for weeks. That is what the Senate passed unanimously this morning. But House Republicans refuse to take yes for an answer.
"In fact, Mike Johnson said that this bill is a 'joke!' That's another classic we can add to their lines about how they feel about the American people and what they are going through right now. We can add it to: 'Affordability is a hoax.' Donald Trump on gas prices going up a dollar a gallon: 'When they rise, they rise.' 'I will declare no new wars if elected president.' And the impact of all of this on consumers is 'the last of our concerns.'
"None of this is a joke. All of this has real-world consequences for American families. And the same day that they’re refusing to fund our cybersecurity, they learn that Iran has hacked the Director of the FBI.
"Republicans won’t fund TSA or FEMA or the Coast Guard — unless we greenlight more terror in our communities. That’s what they care about. That’s more important to them than anything else: Funding ICE and the paramilitary force they've turned into.
"So if you have ever doubted, for a moment, how craven the House Republicans really are, today you have your answer."
On the GOP’s Betrayal of the American People:
"We have a discharge petition that has been active and live.
"They're not only rejecting the bipartisan bill. They know this is a continuation of the shutdown because the Senate is gone. The Senate is gone. So, they know full well what they're doing.
"They're saying: 'We want the status quo. We are so eager to keep ICE going exactly as they're operating in their reckless and unlawful and violent way. That's our priority over that of the American people.'
"And the other portions that this bipartisan bill would've funded are important to the security of our country. It's beyond TSA workers who should never have had to go without a single paycheck. What about our cybersecurity experts? What about the Coast Guard? What about those people who work in our ports and our customs? What about FEMA that this administration has been dismantling and now wants to continue to allow to be unfunded?
"I mean, it is hard to take in the level of how far House Republicans have come to be removed from the people who sent them here to govern on their behalf. It is such a betrayal of their own voters and of the American people in total."
To watch the full press conference, click HERE.
# # #