[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S636-S637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, later this evening, we are going to hear 
from Trump in the State of the Union Address. In a little more than a 
year, President Trump and Republican majorities in Congress have 
delivered on our promises to the American people, from a secure border 
to more money in Americans' pockets. As the American people will hear 
tonight, we are just getting started.
  The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for 11 days 
now. It is the second time in less than 6 months the Democrats have 
needlessly shut down all or part of the Federal Government. Senators 
will have another opportunity today to vote to proceed to the 
Department of Homeland Security funding bill. Democrats have previously 
opposed getting on this funding bill. They opposed a continuing 
resolution that would have temporarily funded Homeland Security 
Agencies while negotiations continued on immigration enforcement. All 
signs suggest that our Democrat colleagues will once again vote against 
moving to DHS funding this afternoon.

[[Page S637]]

  The Department of Homeland Security houses a number of critical 
Agencies, and shutting down this Department has real consequences. 
Democrats are threatening the work of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, of the TSA, of key cyber security offices. FEMA training 
centers, like the National Fire Academy in Maryland, are closed. 
Roughly 45,000 Americans who are in training at one of these centers 
can't go to class right now.
  We are hosting the World Cup in a few months, and some security 
training for that event is on hold right now because of the shutdown.
  Civilian Coast Guard employees won't get a full paycheck at the end 
of this week, and thousands more Americans, from disaster response 
personnel at FEMA to TSA agents, are worried about potentially missing 
pay as soon as next week.
  As I said, this is the second time in 6 months the Democrats have 
shut down all or part of the Federal Government.
  The Department of Homeland Security employs thousands of Americans. 
We should want the most talented and most dedicated individuals serving 
in these roles. But when these Americans and their families are 
routinely used as political pawns, morale suffers. Think of what that 
means for these Agencies' ability to recruit and retain the very best. 
But I guess none of that matters to Democrats.
  Republicans want to get to an agreement on Homeland Security funding. 
So does the White House. And we have acted in good faith throughout 
these negotiations. The Trump administration has taken a number of 
actions on its own in Minneapolis, including deploying body cameras, 
tailoring its mission to criminal illegal immigrants, and requiring 
identification for officers.
  On top of those actions, the White House put forward a very serious 
offer to legislate reforms almost 2 weeks ago. It took Democrats 5 days 
to respond, and when they did respond, it was with a counteroffer that 
was essentially the same as their first, which raises a question, and 
that is, are Democrats actually interested in a solution here or are 
they just interested in a political issue?
  There is room for compromise here but only if both sides give room. 
Democrats aren't doing that.
  I shouldn't need to remind my Democrat colleagues that the Department 
of Homeland Security does critical work. Border security and 
immigration enforcement are one part of its mission. And it is an 
important mission. We need to have a secure border, and we need to 
deport criminal illegal immigrants.

  Now, we can have a debate about how these tasks are undertaken, but 
we are not going to support anything that makes it impossible for law 
enforcement to carry out its job. We are not going to support anything 
that makes it more dangerous for officers to do their jobs. 
Unfortunately, that is what some of the Democrats' proposals would do.
  Old habits die hard, and, unfortunately, the party of ``defund the 
police'' seems to be slipping back into calls to defund law 
enforcement. I hope that is not the position of the Democrats' here. I 
hope our colleagues are actually willing to come to a solution, but if 
they are, it is time to show it. This shutdown is already hurting hard-
working Americans and impacting efforts to preserve both public safety 
and national security, and it is time to end it.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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