Congress Departs with No Resolution in Sight on DHS Funding
The Department of Homeland Security’s funding beyond Feb. 27 remains in question, as the Senate cast its last vote on Feb. 12 and left the Capitol for an 11-day recess. The House is polishing off legislative business on Feb. 13 before also departing. Once both chambers reconvene on Feb. 23, lawmakers will have only five days to act to avert a DHS shutdown.
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A lapse in DHS funding will put thousands of CBP officers out of work (see 1502110067). Many other CBP employees may have to work without pay (see 1502100056).
The House passed a measure, HR-240 (here), to fund the department for the rest of FY 2015, but the legislation has measures to scale back President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration. Democrats in the Senate have so far blocked attempts to move the bill through the chamber, and Obama has threatened a veto (see 1502100056). The Senate is scheduled to vote to open debate on the bill again on Feb. 23.
Congress left DHS out of an FY 2015 appropriations package passed in December over Republican resistance to the immigration action (see 1412100012). DHS funds would be used to implement the new restrictions on deportations.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recently said DHS funding is now up to the House, although House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the onus remains on the Senate. But on Feb. 12, McConnell again pressed Senate Democrats to open debate on the House legislation. “I’ve already offered a fair and open debate to them several times now,” said McConnell on comments on the Senate floor. “It’s a debate that would allow for amendments from both parties. That means amendments from Democrats, too.”