Day 35: A Nation At Risk

Washington, D.C. – As the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues, forcing over one hundred thousand employees to work without pay, Americans are at risk. 

The CEOs from ten of our nation's largest airlines signed a letter together asking Congress to do the right thing and fund DHS in its entirety: "Once again, air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown... First, leaders should immediately come together to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Then they need to act so this problem never happens again." 

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board knows exactly who's to blame: Senator Chuck Schumer. In a recent editorial, they implored Senator Schumer to end the games and fund DHS: "The only solution for today's crazy TSA lines is for Mr. Schumer to fund the Department of Homeland Security. If he won't, maybe he ought to go down to JFK Airport, put on a uniform, and help. While he's there, he can offer apologies to the public in person." 

It's not just TSA that's operating under stressful conditions – the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office, and the Federal Protective Service (FPS) are all operating at a reduced capacity. Tens of thousands of employees are furloughed or working without pay.

While the agencies responsible for protecting Americans from terrorism, cyber attacks, and natural disasters are operating with minimal resources, our adversaries are not. Nations like Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea want to see America destroyed, and they will use any perceived weakness to their advantage. Now is not the time to weaken our national security – it must be as strong as possible. 

It's not a difficult concept to understand, but Democrats refuse to fund DHS without radical changes that hamper our ability to secure our border, enforce immigration law, and protect Americans from violent and dangerous criminal aliens. 

Senator Brian Schatz even feels "very serene" as he votes to withhold paychecks from the hardworking federal employees who continue to protect Americans while working without pay. 

Meanwhile, Americans face increased threats. Earlier this month, two ISIS-inspired terrorists were arrested in NYC for an attempted bombing near the mayor's home. Fortunately, the home-made bombs failed to detonate, and no one was harmed.

Following the attack, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board again asked Senator Schumer to stop the games: "Democrats insist they won't restore DHS funding without an overhaul of ICE, but they are running a big risk if there is a successful terror attack. After the attempt in Manhattan, the wisest move for Mr. Schumer would be to quit posturing and pass the bill."

Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is sounding the alarm on the consequences of shutdown politics. In recent appearances, Johnson underscored the urgent need to separate policy disputes from government funding - particularly when national security is at stake.

“We’ve got to get away from coupling policy disagreements in Congress with funding… It’s a national security issue right now.”

He pointed directly to the real-world impacts: TSA officers working without pay, declining morale, and mounting pressure on frontline personnel responsible for protecting the traveling public.

“How many sectors of American society are people told, ‘you have to go to work, but we’re not paying you’? … We are also compromising security. These are people we expect to look for bombs on aircraft that we and our families are about to board - and they’re not being funded to do this very, very important work.”

Johnson emphasized that the consequences go far beyond longer airport lines - they strike at the core of U.S. security. “This is about aviation security, port security, maritime security, cybersecurity - a whole range of things that are not being funded at a very crucial moment.”

In a separate Fox & Friends interview, he was even more direct, calling out the growing normalization of shutdown tactics: “The most basic function of Congress is to keep the lights on and fund the government… Let's not forget that we are now in a heightened threat environment because of the war with Iran. If there was ever a time that we needed to fund the Department of Homeland Security, it's right now." 

This isn't a game. Democrats are putting the American people at risk – and the danger increases with every day that DHS remains shut down. Shutdowns don't work. It didn't work last fall, when Senator Schumer ended the historic 43-day shutdown without a single concession, and it's not going to work now, as the DHS shutdown nears that 43-day record. 

The bipartisan negotiated deal to fund DHS has now passed the House twice with bipartisan majorities. It's long past time for Senator Schumer to face reality, end the shutdown, and stop holding the livelihoods of federal workers hostage to radical demands. 

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