Washington, D.C. — After weeks of inaction by House Republicans who refused to bring the bipartisan Senate-passed U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill to the floor until today, the House passed a bill by voice vote to fund DHS, ending a record 76-day shutdown. In response, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
House Republicans’ inaction—on a bill the Senate passed unanimously more than a month ago—led to a record-long shutdown and blocked critical funding from passing for months, pausing essential services and forcing TSA workers to go without pay. Americans deserve better than preventable shutdowns and TSA workers serving without pay because Congressional Republicans have to this point refused to rein in the Trump administration’s unpopular and reckless immigration tactics. It’s past time for Congress to do their job and listen to the large majority of Americans who overwhelmingly demand commonsense reforms to hold ICE accountable and end its terror tactics.
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