“The Shutdown Makes Our Country Less Safe”: Chairman Garbarino Warns DHS Funding Lapse Threatens Public Safety

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) joined ABC News Live and Fox News Liveto outline how the lapse in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, triggered by Senate Democrats' refusal to advance the House-passed, bipartisan full-year DHS funding bill, could put Americans at risk and harm frontline DHS personnel. Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) received billions of dollars in funding through reconciliation, the shutdown disproportionately impacts DHS's other components that are responsible for disaster response, cybersecurity, transportation security, and infrastructure protection, forcing many personnel to work without pay and straining mission readiness.

Watch Chairman Garbarino's full hit on Fox News here.

On Fox News Live, Chairman Garbarino discussed how the House-passed DHS appropriations bill would've increased transparency and accountability for the department:

"As for the body cameras, it's [funding] that was already agreed to in the full funding bill, that the Democrats aren't approving right now… I do believe that there is room for reforms, and I believe that both the CBP and ICE, both of the leaders were in front of my committee this past week, talked about possible reforms."

"It's really shortsighted on the Democrats' part to shut down the rest of the department over changes that they're looking for in ICE and CBP… I hope it doesn't go on long, but I'm worried what it would do to the security of America if it does."

Chairman Garbarino also discussed the broader impacts of the DHS shutdown on Americans:

"We're going to see, like we did in the last shutdown, callouts by TSA officers, which means…the longer lines at the airports. Also, with the FIFA World Cup coming up in June, and the America 250 celebration, the Secret Service is planning a lot of that, TSA is planning a lot of that. So, if they're not there doing work, you could see a lot of effects on the games. You could see a lot of effects on the 250th celebration… The families that are affected by natural disasters that FEMA has to come in and take over, those are the people that are really going to feel it. And, again, that's something that I hope doesn't happen if it's long-term. But this is a purely Democratic created shutdown. Again, because we had an agreed upon deal that they pulled out of."

Watch Chairman Garbarino's hit on ABC News here.

On ABC News Live, Chairman Garbarino addressed the potential impacts of the shutdown on DHS's workforce:

"Secret Service, FEMA, CISA, who's a cybersecurity agency, as well as the TSA officials that work at our airports, Coast Guard--they are all going to go to work without being paid. And the shutdown, the way it is now, I actually think makes our country less safe. And I think it's time that the Senate gets back into town and does its job and passes something that the House can then pass."

"The number one priority should be making sure our Coast Guard families, our TSA officers…and the FEMA employees are all paid while they're going to work, because there are so many things that could happen. And if these guys aren't at full strength, again, it just puts us at a greater disadvantage."

Chairman Garbarino also highlighted the cooperation between the local and federal law enforcement on Long Island:

"Local police in both Suffolk and Nassau County here on Long Island are working well with ICE and CBP, going after the worst of the worst criminals. We had a huge MS-13 problem here on Long Island, and they are working hand in hand, making sure those criminals, whether it's violent criminals or sex offenders, or human traffickers or drug dealers, are all taken care of and returned to their country of origin, so they can't continue to prey on my constituents."

Background:

In a shutdown, many of the Department's more than 250,000 employees, who dedicate their lives to keeping the American people safe, would be forced to work without pay. Homeland Security and House Appropriations Republicans issued statementscondemning Senate Democrats' actions, warning that the funding lapse puts the safety and security of Americans at risk.

The House passed six final appropriations bills, including a bipartisan agreement to fund DHS for a full fiscal year in January. The legislation provided funding for body cameras, deescalation training, and resources for DHS's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to enhance transparency. Additionally, the House-passed version included vital funding to support the personnel and missions of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), and more.

In the Committee's oversight hearing last week, leaders from ICE, CBP, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) all testified that a DHS shutdown would undermine interagency coordination and hinder the department's ability to effectively carry out its core mission. The House Appropriations Committee's Homeland Security Subcommittee also held a hearing last week on the impacts of a shutdown for DHS, where leaders from FEMA, TSA, CISA, and the U.S. Coast Guard emphasized similar concerns about the operational and security risks caused by a lapse in funding.

Last week, numerous publications and outlets also highlighted the impacts on different DHS components:

• The shutdown may disrupt several ongoing investigations being led by the agency's Office of Inspector General, affecting the ability to conduct thorough oversight of DHS and its components.
• The shutdown is also the second time in the past four months that TSA workers are expected to work without pay, with approximately 95% of the administration's employees considered essential. During the last shutdown, TSA saw "increased rates of unscheduled absences and localized spikes in wait times," which are expected again during this shutdown as spring travel begins to rise.
• CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala told House appropriators last week that just one-third would remain on the job under a shutdown, significantly impairing the agency's ability to conduct "cyber incident response, security assessments, stakeholder engagements, training exercises, and special event planning."
• During the last shutdown, "nearly 85 percent of FEMA employees" continued to work without pay, which is expected to recur with the current funding lapse. Although the disaster relief fund has sufficient resources to sustain ongoing and anticipated activities, emergency response efforts could be strained, and disaster relief reimbursements may be delayed, potentially slowing recovery efforts for affected communities.
• " More than 41,000 active-duty and activated Reserve members " of the U.S. Coast Guard will continue to work without pay, even amid its historic success in securing the country's maritime borders, slowing down the flow of illicit narcotics, and conducting high-risk maritime operations to protect U.S. interests abroad.

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