The US House passed a key funding bill for Deapartment of Homeland Security (DHS), with several Democrats on board, on January 22.
The $64.4 billion bill includes about $10 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It passed the House by a vote of 220-207.
There were seven Democrats who sided with the Republicans:
- Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas),
- Jared Golden (Maine),
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.),
- Laura Gillen (N.Y.),
- Don Davis (N.C.),
- Tom Suozzi (N.Y.)
- Vicente Gonzalez (Texas)
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One Republican votes against
Rep. Thomas Massie was the only Republican who voted against the bill.
Why did Democrats vote for the bill?
The $64.4 billion DHS bill includes funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the U.S. Secret Service, the Disaster Relief Fund and other programs and agencies, besides ICE funding.
All seven Democrats who voted for the bill to pass echoed a similar explanation, saying that advancing the DHS bill was essential in maintaining “core operations Americans rely on every day.”
{{/usCountry}}All seven Democrats who voted for the bill to pass echoed a similar explanation, saying that advancing the DHS bill was essential in maintaining “core operations Americans rely on every day.”
{{/usCountry}}Laura Gillen, however, said she supported “funding our immigration enforcement and the commonsense guardrails.”
Read more: 1,400 people under radar as ICE launches enforcement push in Maine
She added, “Let us be clear: this bill is about funding FEMA disaster relief, about stopping child trafficking and the spread of fentanyl in our communities and strengthening our cybersecurity and law enforcement.”
Don Davis also talked about the Disaster Relief Fund and backed his vote by saying, “Strong, reliable support for disaster relief is non-negotiable” for his state, North Carolina.
Tom Suozzi referred to the Government shutdown last year and said, “I strongly oppose allowing another shutdown to disrupt the lives of working families. We saw the damage of a shutdown last year: millions of Americans lost pay and access to essential services.”
He said that Congress is responsible for maintaining stability and governing instead of moving from “one manufactured crisis to the next.”