Senator Collins Statement on Passage of DHS Funding Package

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on the Senate vote to pass the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding package:

"Passage of this package brings us closer to ending the reckless and harmful shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that Democrats triggered when they walked away from the bipartisan funding bill for the Department. That original bill contained new safeguards and oversight to protect the American public and our law enforcement, including additional funding for body-worn cameras and deescalation training.

"Over the past five weeks, Republicans have made repeated attempts to reach bipartisan consensus to reopen the Department. Republicans offered proposals to expand the use of body-worn cameras; limit civil immigration enforcement in sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals; increase oversight of detention facilities; and implement visible officer identification.

"While Republicans worked in good faith to try to reach agreement, Democrats remained intransigent and unreasonable with their list of demands.

"Congressional Democrats have done real damage to the appropriations process by repeatedly forcing government shutdowns and refusing to fund entire agencies. Their refusal to fund ICE and Border Patrol leaves our borders and our country less secure and sets a precedent that they may one day come to regret.

"Today's action moves us closer to ending the disastrous shutdown at the Department, which has caused chaos at our airports, made us more vulnerable to cyber and terrorist attacks, delayed disaster response to communities in need, and caused thousands of hardworking federal employees to report to work with no guarantee of when they will be paid. Moving forward, I remain committed to ensuring adequate funding to secure our borders."

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