Senate Democrat Shutdown Fuels Airport Disruptions, Heightens Security Risks Nationwide
Washington, D.C. – Thanks to Senate Democrats, the Department of Homeland Security has now been shut down for 34 days. DHS employees missed their first full paycheck last week, and the strain of the shutdown continues to ricochet across American national security efforts.
Amid spring break travel, heightened national security concerns, severe storms, and more, keeping DHS shut down puts Americans in harm's way. Due to TSA staffing shortages, airports across the nation are facing record-breaking wait times at TSA:
- CBS News | Over a third of TSA officers call out at 3 major U.S. airports in single day as funding standoff continues
- NBC6 South Florida | Lines Out the Door at Airports as TSA Remains Under Pressure from Partial Government Shutdown
- King 5 Seattle | SEA Airport launches food pantry for unpaid TSA workers
- NBC Chicago | Weather and TSA staffing issues disrupt flights at O'Hare
- ABC11 Raleigh | TSA staff departures threaten growing delays at RDU
- GBH Boston | TSA workers start walking off the job at Logan
- NBC10 Philadelphia | PHL shuts down 2 more TSA checkpoints amid partial government shutdown
- CBS News | Long TSA lines and hundreds of flight cancellations continue to disrupt travel at Atlanta airport
- NBC Bay Area | ‘It's just disheartening': TSA officers at SJC open up about working without pay
Officials are warning that, if the shutdown continues much longer, staffing shortages would force some airports to close entirely – putting not only TSA and federal workers' pay at risk, but also the livelihoods of the private sector employees who work for the impacted airports, the airlines, the restaurants and shops in the airports, and more. These are the very real consequences of Democrats' actions.
like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are working with limited resources, fulfilling just the bare minimum of their capabilities. This puts our cybersecurity at risk, when we know cyber-terrorists in Iran, Russia, and China are constantly working to harm American hospitals, electric grids, and more. The threat to our cybersecurity is much less visible than some of the other impacts of this shutdown, but the risk to Americans is significant:
- Homeland Security Today | CISA Says DHS Shutdown Will Likely Further Delay CIRCIA Rule
- Federal News Network | CISA delays cyber incident reporting town halls due to shutdown
While Democrats shut down DHS with the intention of kneecapping President Trump's effective immigration policies, the work of ICE and CBP continues, thanks to funding in the OBBBA.
The real danger of the shutdown is for the remaining agencies under DHS, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which supports Americans recovering from natural disasters and weather emergencies, such as the frigid winter storms that battered the Northeast last month and the record number of tornadoes ripping through the Midwest this year.
While FEMA continues to operate with a bare-bones staff, its emergency fund is dangerously low, and they are only allowed to respond to immediate disasters – meaning they cannot continue operations for existing projects.
- MSN | FEMA fund near 'red zone' amid shutdown
- The Paper | Morganton continues Helene recovery work despite FEMA silence during DHS shutdown
- Bloomberg | DHS Shutdown Puts High-Profile Report on FEMA in Limbo
The situation is dire. Americans are feeling the pain of Democrats' actions. The longer this goes on, the more we expose the American people to unnecessary danger.
Senate Democrats have now had multiple chances to reopen DHS and fully fund it through the end of the year, but they continue to block funding at every opportunity. That's not leadership, and it's never going to give them the results they want.
Following the 43-day Democrat shutdown last fall, Democrats received zero concessions and ended up voting for the same bill they were offered before the shutdown. They accomplished nothing, yet they spent 43 days hurting federal employees and risking the safety of the American people. This situation will be no different.
All this pain, for what? It's time for Democrats to end the shutdown and fully fund DHS in its entirety.
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