U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls for a Clean Homeland Security Funding Bill
With Homeland Security funding set to expire, full funding bill for 2015 fiscal year urgently needed to maintain counterterrorism efforts
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO) and member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, joined a full Democratic caucus effort this week calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass a clean bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year. The letter was signed by forty-five Senators, including two Independents, who caucus with Democrats. Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also supports a clean funding bill without extraneous policy riders attached.
“At a time when we are facing threats both at home and from abroad, the Department of Homeland Security and its related agencies play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of communities throughout Wisconsin,” said Senator Baldwin. “The idea of playing politics with the funding of the Coast Guard, which keeps the Great Lakes open and supports our Made in Wisconsin economy, or creating uncertainty when it comes to the availability of FEMA grants, which are a lifeline for many of our local first responders, should be of major concern to Wisconsinites. I urge Majority Leader McConnell and Chairman Johnson to stop using these divisive political tactics and put an end to this uncertainty that is undermining our nation’s security.”
The letter continued, “Every day, new threats emerge that endanger our citizens at home and our allies abroad. We should not cast doubt on future funding for the Department of Homeland Security at a time when the entire nation should be marshalling collective resources to defend against terrorism.”
The Senators urged the Majority Leader to “immediately schedule a vote” on the clean, bipartisan compromise funding bill that House and Senate negotiators reached in December, which would fund DHS for the entire fiscal year. Homeland security funding supports DHS and its related agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Coast Guard, Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, among others.
The full text of the letter is available here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin
Baldwin Announces $4.9 Million to Protect and Restore Wisconsin’s Coastal Habitats
Apr 23rd, 2024 by U.S. Sen. Tammy BaldwinFunding from Baldwin-backed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will increase resilience to climate change and extreme weather events
