[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 54 (Monday, March 23, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1531-S1532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Unanimous Consent Requests

  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, as we enter spring and schools across the 
Nation approach their spring breaks, millions of families will soon be 
traveling. They will be relying on our airports to travel to visit 
family, to go on vacation, but unfortunately, they will be met with 
longer lines because Washington Republicans refuse to pay our TSA 
agents.
  That is right--the Department of Homeland Security is currently 
without funding because Washington Republicans would rather see it shut 
down than pass commonsense--just commonsense--guardrails on ICE. In 
fact, every Senate Republican present voted just this past weekend 
against paying our TSA agents.
  As a result, the American people are paying the price. When TSA 
staffing levels drop because officers aren't getting paid, wait times 
at airport security checkpoints--well, they stretch longer and longer. 
This doesn't just inconvenience travelers; it undermines security and 
directly threatens jobs and businesses and livelihoods.
  The situation is so dire at our airports that the Trump 
administration is going to send untrained ICE agents to our airports--
untrained ICE agents--to try to do the job of our highly trained TSA 
agents.
  That is why I rise yet again with a simple, practical proposal to pay 
hard-working TSA agents, pay them right now. They deserve it. If we 
cannot move forward with funding for the entire Department of Homeland 
Security, we should at least be able to come together on this. The 
Trump administration and Senate leadership are having ongoing 
negotiations on the guardrails on ICE, and TSA officers should not be 
caught in the middle of that fight.
  So today, I am asking my colleagues to take just a simple step: Pass 
my legislation right now to pay TSA workers so that commercial air 
travel remains safe and functional.
  Let me say this: Claiming that you will not agree to pay TSA agents 
because this bill doesn't fund the entire

[[Page S1532]]

Department--well, it is, frankly, just an excuse because if Washington 
Republicans truly believe that, then why did they agree to literally 
fund everything else in our government except for DHS?
  If it has to be all or nothing, like they are now claiming, then why 
agree to fund parts of our government where we have an agreement and 
leave DHS unfunded?
  I can tell you why. It is that they know it is the right thing to do. 
They know that other government employees should not be penalized for 
the President's mass deportation agenda.
  That is exactly why we are asking for this today. Don't penalize TSA 
and the traveling public for the fact that you refuse to rein in ICE. 
Have them be held accountable. Have them be trained, transparent, and 
accountable like every other law enforcement agency in this country.
  So, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of Calendar No. 362, S. 4127; that the bill be considered 
read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, my 
colleague from Nevada asks this floor to fund the TSA. She and her 
colleagues have voted against TSA funding at least five--if not six--
times over the past several weeks. Republicans have voted to fund the 
TSA and to fund all of DHS. So this just seems a bit hypocritical, I 
guess.
  As I think about the situation here, I would ask my colleague: Why 
did it take Democrats 30 days to come to the table and discuss this 
issue with Republicans--30 days?
  Then we started negotiations. There were some talks on Thursday and 
Friday between the leaders of both parties. Then, over the weekend, 
Democrats refused to continue those discussions. Why? Was it because 
they wanted to go home?
  Well, look, we all wanted to go home. TSA officers would like to have 
a paycheck as well. So it is not lost on me.
  How in the world can we sit here and have you ask us to fund the TSA 
when Republicans have consistently voted to fund the DHS?
  This is now the 37th day of the shutdown.
  Remember, the DHS was formed out of the ashes of September 11, when 
we took 22 Agencies and brought them together--maybe there was some 
information missed that wasn't shared on September 11--so that maybe 
that day never happens again. So why would we start breaking up these 
Agencies now and break up their funding, since we are a stronger, more 
secure country when we fund all of DHS, not just a part of it?
  Again, Republicans have voted to fund the TSA at least 6 times in the 
past 2 weeks, and Democrats have voted at least 6 times not to fund the 
TSA.
  Therefore, I ask that the Senator modify her request so that the 
Senate may proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 156, 
H.R. 4553. I further ask that the substitute amendment at the desk be 
considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read 
a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator so modify the request?
  The Senator from Nevada.
  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, I reserve the right to object.
  I think we would all agree that it would be better to fund the DHS as 
a whole rather than piecemeal, but you won't agree to commonsense 
reforms. In fact, the President himself said, this weekend, that he 
will not agree to any reform or funding of the DHS, and he is holding 
other bills hostage. So it is on the President's desk. The President 
has clearly interjected himself in this by putting ICE in our airports 
when we can fund the entire Department of Homeland Security and 
continue the discussions on ICE, which are going back and forth with 
the President and his team and leadership, and be done with it.
  In the meantime, if we pass my piece for right now, we can at least 
pass the TSA, but the President has interjected himself again. He 
doesn't want guardrails. So I want to just, at least, prevent those TSA 
agents from missing another paycheck.
  In the meantime, get ICE out of our airports.
  Therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Is there an objection to the original request?
  Mr. MARSHALL. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Nevada.
  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, you know, I find this really disappointing. 
Paying our hard-working TSA officers shouldn't be controversial. It is 
not partisan. The funding isn't controversial. People in my State and 
in every State are waiting 3 hours, maybe more than that. They are 
missing their flights.
  Everyone here has the power to do something about it. My Republican 
colleagues have the power to do something about it. They don't have to 
wait for the President. So, if Washington Republicans--my Senate 
colleagues--really wanted to do what was right by their constituents 
regarding the TSA workers, you would have passed my bill to pay the TSA 
officers, instead of punishing them and the American people because of 
your inaction.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.