[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 8 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E75]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DEBBIE DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 13, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 240) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 240, the 
Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2015. Without further action by 
Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will face a 
shutdown on February 28, 2015. Everyone agrees DHS should receive 
robust funding to carry out their mission of keeping the American 
people safe, and I'm pleased to see there is bipartisan, bicameral 
agreement on funding levels for the agency. However, I am very 
disappointed that the Republican majority had decided to add poison-
pill amendments to this legislation related to the President's actions 
on immigration. This is putting the American people at risk and is 
unacceptable.
  Global tensions remain high following the terrorist attacks in 
France, and we should not be letting down our guard at this critical 
time. Yet this is exactly what we are doing by passing H.R. 240 today. 
This legislation has no chance of being signed into law, as President 
Obama has already said he would veto the bill. If my friends on the 
other side of the aisle are so concerned about immigration, they should 
work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner on comprehensive immigration 
reform. I stand ready to work with them on this critical issue.
  I want to address the DeSantis Amendment to this legislation. As a 
woman who is active on domestic violence issues, I will always do 
everything in my power to protect victims of abuse. However, this 
amendment is misleading and I am afraid it could have unintended 
consequences if adopted. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated 
that this amendment would discourage victims of domestic violence from 
reporting abuse to the proper authorities. I also spoke with domestic 
violence groups in Michigan, and they have pointed out the unintended 
consequences of this amendment as well. We need to make it easier to 
report incidents of domestic violence, not harder, which is why I am 
opposing the DeSantis amendment today.
  In the meantime, we should pass a clean DHS appropriations bill so 
the operations of this critical department can continue uninterrupted. 
Their mission is simply too important to jeopardize. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 240.

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