Bill to fund US homeland security fails again as concern grows about airport lines | US news
A bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to pass the Senate on Friday amid growing concerns about long lines to get screened at some of the nation’s largest airports.
Democrats have refused to provide the support needed to move the funding measure toward final passage. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday he would introduce an alternative measure to fund the Transportation Security Administration, which only scans passengers and luggage for hazardous materials. That too is likely to fail as lawmakers hold a rare weekend session.
Behind the scenes, efforts to resolve the Fund trip standoff intensified as White House border czar Tom Homan met with a bipartisan group of senators for the second day in a row. Democrats are demanding that federal agents change immigration enforcement practices following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Democratic lawmakers did not comment as they left the meeting with Homan. Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate appropriations committee, said the White House was adding to its proposal in hopes of resolving the dispute but declined to go into details.
“This is a very fair and reasonable offer,” Collins said, adding that he hoped the two sides could meet again on Saturday. “But that depends on whether Democrats come back with an answer.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he sees “area of agreement” emerging from talks with the White House. But he also questioned whether Democrats were serious about reaching any deal that would provide more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This is smallpox in everyone’s home,” Thune said. “There are people waiting in queues at airports. This needs to be fixed. It needs to be resolved and good faith efforts are finally being made on all related issues.”
On the Senate floor, Schumer said he agreed that the TSA should be reopened as quickly as possible, but not under the terms Republicans offered, namely funding the entire homeland security department. Democrats are looking for ways to fund the TSA while continuing Immigration and Customs Enforcement negotiations.
“Tomorrow, America will see the issue clearly: which senators want to open the TSA, pay TSA workers, and end the chaos at our airports, and which senators will once again block TSA funding,” Schumer said.
The vast majority of employees at TSA are deemed essential and continue to work during government funding runs out, but they do so without pay. Call rates have begun to increase at some airports, leading to extended screening times for many passengers.
Democrats have demanded a number of policy changes under the funding bill, including requiring ICE agents to get an arrest warrant from a judge before breaking into homes. They also want agents to wear identifying information on their uniforms and to ban the use of masks.
“The American people are fed up with this rogue agency. We need to rein it in. And we’re negotiating right now on how to do that,” said Patty Murray, the top Democratic senator on the Senate appropriations committee.
The Trump administration has said it has already adopted several changes, including expanding the use of body-worn cameras, except for undercover operations, and limited civilian enforcement activities in certain sensitive locations, such as hospitals, schools and houses of worship. Republicans also note that Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and put Homan in charge of operations in Minneapolis, actions they say indicate the administration’s intent to make changes to ICE operations.
The congress is planned to take a long break towards the end of the month due to the two-week Easter break. Thune threatened to keep senators in Washington if the impasse was not resolved.
“I don’t think we’re going to take a break if the government is still shut down,” Thune said.
