24 February 2015 - Homeland Security shutdown
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Republicans split on DHS funding, edging closer to partial agency shutdown
Paul Kane and Sean Sullivan (The Washington Post)
Congressional Republicans remained sharply divided Monday over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security, prompting White House officials to begin preparations for a potential shutdown of the agency this weekend.
“Right now, that does seem to be where we’re headed,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday.
Late Monday, Senate Democrats again filibustered a Republican funding proposal for DHS because the money is tied to a repeal of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The House passed the bill in mid-January, and the Senate has been trying unsuccessfully since then to advance the proposal. On Monday the vote was 47 to 46, well short of the 60 votes necessary to overcome the Democrats’ procedural roadblock. The Monday vote marked Republicans’ fourth attempt to move the House bill.
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Warning
Jake Miller (CBS News)
As Congress continues feuding over a spending bill that would prevent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from partially shutting down at midnight on Friday, President Obama warned the nation's governors on Monday that they, too, have a stake in the outcome of that fight.
"Unless Congress acts, one week from now more than 100,000 DHS employees - Border Patrol, port inspectors, [Transportation Security Administration] agents - will show up to work without getting paid," the president said during remarks before the National Governors Association at the White House. "They all work in your states. These are folks who, if they don't have a paycheck, are not going to be able to spend that money in your states. It will have a direct impact on your economy."
If DHS partially shuts down, the president added, "It will have a direct impact on America's national security, because their hard work helps to keep us safe. And as governors you know that we can't afford to play politics with our national security."
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How?
Erin Kelly and Susan Davis (USA Today)
What happens if Congress doesn't agree by the Friday deadline?
About 30,000 DHS employees — mostly office workers — will be furloughed. More than 80% of the department's 240,000 employees will still go to work because their jobs are deemed essential to the nation's safety. Those workers, however, will not get paid.
Which employees are considered 'essential'?
Many who work at Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service and the Coast Guard are considered essential for national security. They patrol the borders, check luggage for weapons at airports, respond to natural disasters or guard the president.
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Consequences
Staff (The Economist, blog)
IT MIGHT seem impossible, but America's political leaders have figured out a way to make airport security even more maddening: furlough tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers.
The TSA, which is responsible for screening air passengers, is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has found itself at the centre of a political fight. The DHS has been tasked with carrying out President Barack Obama's plan temporarily to shield millions of unauthorised immigrants from deportation. Congress must reauthorise funding for the department by February 27th. Republicans, who control both houses, have advanced bills that would fund the DHS—but also block Mr Obama's plans. The president has said he won't sign any reauthorisation that blocks his immigration actions. A partial government shutdown looms. (In the most recent edition of The Economist our Lexington columnist argued that "Congress should do its job and fund the DHS.")
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24 February 2015 - Homeland Security shutdown, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), février 2015. Consulté le 30/12/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2015/24-february-2015-homeland-security-shutdown