[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 35 (Monday, March 2, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H1503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              DHS FUNDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Hawaii (Mr. Takai) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TAKAI. Mr. Speaker, there is a letter from me sitting on your 
desk today asking you to pass a clean funding bill for the Department 
of Homeland Security. All Democrats in the House have introduced and 
cosponsored a clean bill, and the Republican-controlled Senate has 
passed one as well.
  Mr. Speaker, clause 2 of House rule XXI prohibits inclusion of 
language ``changing existing law,'' commonly referred to as the 
prohibition on legislating on appropriations bills; yet that is why the 
House comes in today facing another deadline that puts our national 
security and DHS workforce at risk--because we are trying to legislate 
through appropriations.
  I am completely in favor of the deliberative process by which this 
body is supposed to conduct itself, and, while I support the 
President's executive action on immigration reform, I would also 
support a robust debate on it in this House.
  However, you know as well as I do that forcing this debate through 
holding hostage the funding of a critical component of our Nation's 
security is not the proper way to go about having this debate.
  At the beginning of the 114th Congress, you wrote an op-ed with 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell entitled ``Now We Can Get 
Congress Going.'' That is what I wrote to you and urged you to do 
today, Mr. Speaker.
  Let's pass a clean DHS funding bill and get going with the tough 
legislative choices that we have to make this year.

                          ____________________