[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2425-2428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, by calculation, we have today and 3 more 
days before the Department of Homeland Security is shut down.
  Think about what happened this last weekend all across America. It 
was disclosed publicly that an extremist group, a terrorist group--Al-
Shabab--had some communication among their membership targeting malls 
in America for extremism and terrorism. God forbid that ever happens.
  I know those who are managing these malls look at the terrible 
situation that occurred in Africa and want to make certain it is never 
repeated anywhere, let alone in the United States. They are making 
extraordinary efforts to protect people across America, not only as 
they are shopping in malls but in other places, as they should.
  What is the lead agency to protect America against terrorism? What is 
the lead agency to make sure we never ever again in our history 
experience 9/11? The Department of Homeland Security. That Department 
was created after 9/11, because we felt the way we were protecting 
America wasn't good enough. We took 22 different Federal agencies and 
put them under the roof of the Department of Homeland Security and said 
to that Department: Now focus; focus all your time and efforts to keep 
us safe. They have done a good job. I am sure they have made some 
mistakes along the way, but they have really dedicated themselves--all 
the men and women who work there--to keeping America safe.
  Now what has Congress done for the Department of Homeland Security? 
Last December, when we considered the appropriations--the budget--for 
the Department of Homeland Security, the Republicans insisted we take 
that Department out of the regular budget process and give it only 
temporary funding, a continuing resolution--temporary funding--which 
limits the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to do his 
best job to keep America safe. Why would the Republicans pick this 
appropriation, the single appropriation to keep America safe from 
terrorism and decide they don't want to properly fund it? They are only 
giving it temporary funding and a continuing resolution because they 
disagree with President Obama's position on immigration. That is it.
  They want this issue of immigration, separate and apart from the 
budget of the Homeland Security, to be debated, and they insist they 
will not fund the Department of Homeland Security until it is debated. 
So come February 27, in just a few days, this Department of Homeland 
Security is going to shut down. It is going to shut down.
  Many of the employees are essential. They will be asked to come to 
work even though there is only a promise of a paycheck, and they will 
show up because they are loyal to this country and they want to do 
their job to keep it safe. Why won't the Senate and the House do its 
job?
  Why can't we pass a clean appropriations bill for the Department of 
Homeland Security? Before we took a break last week for President's 
week I made a unanimous consent request on the floor to do just that--
pass a clean appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland 
Security. The majority leader, Senator McConnell of Kentucky, objected. 
He objected to funding the Department of Homeland Security. I don't 
understand it. It doesn't make sense for us to put in jeopardy the 
security of America over a political debate on immigration.
  What is ironic is that now that the Republicans have the majority 
control of the House and the Senate they can call any bill they wish. 
After funding the Department of Homeland Security, they can turn 
immediately to a debate on immigration. It is their right. They pick 
the topics, they dictate the calendar, and those of us in the minority 
have to accede to their wishes. They are in the majority. They are 
controlling, but still Speaker Boehner and

[[Page 2426]]

Senator McConnell, the Republican majority leader, refuse to pass a 
clean appropriations bill to the Department of Homeland Security.
  Luckily some Republicans are stepping up and saying this is wrong. I 
commend the following Senators on the Republican side who have publicly 
stated that Congress should pass a clean Homeland Security bill and 
stop this tactic that came from the House of Representatives. Those 
Senators include: Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, Senator Mark Kirk of 
Illinois, Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona, Senator 
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. 
We need eight more Republican Senators to come forward and say we need 
a clean appropriations bill and we need to pass it now. If eight 
Republican Senators today will say that, then we can move forward and 
pass this bill. We can fund this Department and stop this gamesmanship. 
Then, if the leaders want to move to a debate on immigration, so be it. 
But let's have eight more Republicans step forward and join us to make 
this a reality.
  I don't understand, frankly, the thinking of many of the Republicans 
who oppose the President's approach to immigration. Here is what it 
comes down to. If the President used every penny given to him by 
Congress to deport those who are undocumented in the United States, he 
could reach about 4 percent of those who are eligible for deportation--
4 percent. What the President has said is: Let me focus then on 
deporting those who are most dangerous to the United States.
  President Obama has said there are people who have been here for 
years. They are part of our communities. They have good jobs. They have 
raised families. They go to our churches. We see them every day. They 
are no threat to us. Let's focus on deporting those who are dangerous--
the felons, the criminals. The President has basically said we 
shouldn't set out to deport families, we ought to deport felons. We 
shouldn't set out to deport children, we ought to deport criminals. So 
his priority is deportation of those most dangerous to the United 
States, and the Republicans have opposed that. Why? Primarily because 
the President supports it. It has reached that point in the debate. It 
is so divisive.
  The President doesn't want to waste any resources in deporting those 
who are not dangerous. He wants to get those who are dangerous out of 
the United States first, and Republicans object to that.
  There is something else they want to do too. The House of 
Representatives wants to challenge the President's right to Executive 
orders when it comes to prioritizing those who can stay in the United 
States.
  Several years ago at the request of 20 or more Senators, the 
President initiated an Executive action known as DACA. This Executive 
action said that if someone qualified as a DREAMer, they would be 
allowed to stay without threat of deportation. We estimate that 2 
million young people in America would qualify as DREAMers, and 600,000 
have this protection now. What the Republicans want to do in the House 
of Representatives is to eliminate this.
  Who are these young people? They are young folks in America brought 
to this country as toddlers and infants, young boys and girls who grew 
up in this country, went to school in this country, have no problems in 
their criminal record and want to be part of America. That is it.
  What the Republicans have said in the House is we want to deport 
these people--deport them because they are here undocumented, despite 
the fact that we have educated them and many of them are successes in 
life and want to be part of our future. The Republicans have said 
deport them.
  The senior Senator from Maine has authored a bill to address this 
subject, but as much as I respect her and count her as a friend, it 
falls short of protecting the DREAMers who are in this country under 
DACA. I have to say that as one learns the stories of those who are 
protected by the President's Executive order, we wonder what are the 
Republicans thinking.
  I have tried to tell these stories in light of individuals, not 
statistics, and here is one I wish to tell everyone today. It is about 
a young man who came to America when he was 9 years old from Thailand. 
His name is Jirayut New. He was brought here at the age of 9 from 
Thailand by his parents.
  He grew up in San Francisco and he said:

       I forced myself to read mystery novels, dictionary in hand, 
     in order to expand my vocabulary, one word at a time. I 
     mispronounced words, even in the face of ridicule, until I 
     mastered the English language.

  It is amazing. These stories have happened many times in the past, 
but it is incredible to think of a 9-year-old facing that ridicule but 
learning the English language in San Francisco.
  This young man became an excellent student and his dream was to be a 
doctor. Throughout high school New worked 30 hours a week in his 
family's Thai restaurant. Here is what he said about that experience:

       I spent most of my time in the restaurant working as a 
     waiter, cashier and chef, scrubbing toilets, washing dishes, 
     and mopping floors. It taught me to have faith, work hard, 
     and persevere.

  His work paid off. He graduated salutatorian of his high school class 
with a 4.3 grade point average. He was admitted to the University of 
California at Berkeley, one of the top schools in California and the 
Nation. He won a scholarship that would have covered most of his 
tuition, but he couldn't accept it because he was undocumented.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 2 additional 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Despite this setback, New persevered. In May of 2012 he 
graduated with honors from Berkeley with a 3.7 grade point average and 
a major in molecular and cellular biology. One month after he 
graduated, President Obama issued his Executive order, DACA, and now 
New was protected from deportation. As a result he was able to pursue 
his dream to become a doctor.
  Last fall New went to medical school at the University of California 
in San Francisco. Now what does he do in his spare time as a medical 
student? He volunteers at a homeless clinic run by students at the 
University of California in San Francisco. He has cofounded Pre-Health 
Dreamers, a national network of more than 400 DREAMers who are pursuing 
careers in health care.
  New and other similar DREAMers have so much to contribute to America. 
But if the Republicans have their way, this man is going to be 
deported. Instead of being able to stay in the United States as a 
doctor, to realize his life's dream and make this a better and stronger 
nation, he will be deported. Will America be better or worse if this 
young man leaves? I think the answer is obvious.
  So why do the Republicans persist? Why are they determined to take 
this amazing young man and deport him? They have forgotten our legacy 
in America. We are a nation of immigrants, and our immigrants have come 
to this country from all over the world because they appreciate the 
values and opportunity of America. I am lucky. My mother was an 
immigrant to this country, and I stand on the Senate floor representing 
the great State of Illinois. It is my story, my family's story, and it 
is America's story.
  The time is clearly upon us to fund the appropriations of the 
Department of Homeland Security but not at the expense of this amazing 
young man. Let us fund this Department to keep America safe but also 
let us dedicate ourselves to passing legislation which fixes our broken 
immigration system and helps this young man and others like him to be a 
part of America's future.
  I yield the floor.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak 
for 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, before the Senator from Illinois leaves 
the floor, I just want to thank him for his

[[Page 2427]]

amazing leadership on this whole issue of immigration.
  The Senator and I share a similar background because my mother also 
was an immigrant, and the thought of our moms being ripped out of our 
lives is just untenable. We are not going to let it happen.
  I wish to thank him so much because he has been, I would say, the 
grandfather of the whole DREAMer movement. So thank you, Senator.
  We all know Republicans won in huge numbers in the 2014 election and 
they took over the Senate and they run it. They run it--or at least 
they are trying to run it.
  Let's be clear. Less than 8 weeks after they took over the Senate we 
are facing a shutdown, a shutdown of the very agency that protects the 
health, the safety, the lives of the American people--the Department of 
Homeland Security.
  We are 4 days away, and even if they come up with a continuing 
resolution, a small little patch, they are shutting down the programs 
that fund our firefighters and our first responders back home. So any 
way we look at it, this is a national disgrace.
  Think about what our friends abroad and those who are not our friends 
are thinking about this. Republicans say we are in danger. We have to 
go to war, put combat troops on the ground. But they are willing to 
shut down the Department that protects Americans in the homeland from a 
terrorist attack.
  This is a self-inflicted crisis made up by the Republicans. It is 
dangerous. It is the height of irresponsibility and it is unnecessary.
  Let me tell you, how does it make sense in the very same week that 
terrorists are threatening our shopping malls that we would shut down 
the very agency charged with protecting those malls?
  How does it make sense at a time when we are facing serious threats 
to our national security to furlough 30,000 Department of Homeland 
Security workers and to force more than 100,000 frontline Homeland 
Security personnel to work without pay? Why don't these Senators go 
without their pay? Give up your pay. Do you want to come to work every 
day and stand there and look for threats to our homeland and worry 
about how you are going to pay the bills for your kids? Go without pay 
before you do this. You tell me how that makes sense not to pay people 
who are in charge of our security. It is a disgrace.
  Give up your pay--give up your pay, give up your health care, give up 
your benefits, if this is so important to you.
  Oh, no. They will collect their pay. Tell me, how does it make sense 
to shut off the grants that protect our cities, our ports from 
terrorist attacks, and how does it make sense to stop local communities 
from being able to hire police officers and firefighters?
  The Department of Homeland Security is very large. When it was 
created I was troubled by that because it includes so many important 
things in one department, including FEMA. So when we have a natural 
disaster such as an earthquake, fire or flood, that is the Department 
that deals with it. How does it make sense to disrupt disaster recovery 
operations such as the efforts in California to recover from our 
devastating Napa Earthquake and the Rim Fire in Yosemite?
  So not only are they disrupting Homeland Security and the protections 
of our perhaps most-targeted places in America, but they are disrupting 
recovery from natural disasters, and God forbid if we have another one. 
And the reason they are throwing a hissy fit is because the President 
stepped in and has a policy to take care of immigration. Why did the 
President step in? Because Republicans refused to take up a bipartisan 
bill, pass it, and take care of the immigration problem the way they 
are supposed to. They are paralyzed on that point. They cannot do it.
  We had a bill that garnered 68 votes in the last Congress. All they 
have to do is bring it up, pass it here, and then pass it in the House. 
It will pass with overwhelming majorities. The President will sign it, 
and that would make his Executive order unnecessary. The only reason he 
issued an Executive order is that we are facing a crisis in this 
country. There are 11 million undocumented folks. Some of those 
undocumented folks are DREAMers. To me, that is the most important 
category. They are young people who were brought here when they were 
children. They know no other home. All they want to do is stay here and 
give back to America. Republicans want to deport them and their 
parents. They want to deport the parents of American citizens. I thank 
God these people were not in charge of Congress when I was growing up 
or else they might have deported my mother. It took her awhile to get 
through her naturalization. What if they passed something such as what 
the Republicans are proposing?
  I thought they were the party of family values. Show me where that is 
true--ripping families apart. I thought they were the party of economic 
prosperity. Show me how that is true when we know from study after 
study that one of the greatest things we can do for our economy and job 
creation is to get people out of the shadows so they can go and buy a 
home and hold a good job. They can't or won't pass an immigration bill. 
They will not do their job.
  So when the President steps in and does his job, they say: Oh, this 
is terrible. Let's shut down a totally unrelated department, the 
Department of Homeland Security.
  Again I say, let's look at fiscal responsibility. According to the 
Center for American Progress, it would cost more than $50 billion to 
deport the entire population that the President is protecting. And here 
is the deal: I never heard a Republican--and I will stand corrected if 
any Republican corrects me--complain when President Eisenhower used his 
Executive power to help immigrants or when President Nixon did the same 
thing to protect immigrants or when President Ronald Reagan, their 
hero, protected immigrants or when George Bush, Sr., protected 
immigrants or when George W. Bush protected immigrants. They all used 
their authority. Show me one Republican who stood up and said: This is 
outrageous. Let's impeach the President. But they are annoyed because 
it is President Obama, and he won twice. Sorry. Wake up and smell the 
roses. He is the President, and he is doing the right thing for America 
because he loves America and he understands that these people, who the 
Republicans want to deport, are going to help America move on to an era 
of greatness and keep us going.
  Let's look at some of the young people Republicans want to deport. 
Alexis Bux is a 21-year-old student from central California. He is the 
oldest of three siblings. His younger two siblings were born in the 
United States, but he was not. So these great family-value Republicans 
want to rip away the oldest child from this family. His parents were 
farm workers in the fields of San Joaquin Valley. Alexis received 
immigration relief under DACA in 2012, and he will transfer to UC San 
Diego this fall where he will pursue his dream of a career in 
biomedical engineering.
  Tell me, Republicans, how our country is better off when you deport a 
young man such as him. He hopes to use his education to develop a 
sophisticated medical application and tools that will help cure deadly 
diseases. All he wants to do is contribute to the Nation he loves.
  If the Republicans had their way, they would deport people such as 
Ana Albarran, who left Mexico at age 8. She came to this country with 
her younger brother and sister to join her parents. Her parents worked 
11 hours a day as trimmers for a landscaping company in downtown Los 
Angeles.
  After Ana received immigration relief, she felt confident enough to 
begin applying for jobs, and now she is finishing her final year at UC 
Merced so she can begin her career as a bilingual first grade teacher.
  Tell me, Republicans, how does it make sense to deport people such as 
Ana and split her up from her parents when all they want to do is 
contribute to the country they love? How does it make sense just 
because you are too incompetent to hold a vote on your immigration 
plan? If you want to kick people out of the country, put it to a vote. 
Let's go. If you want to deport 11 million people, then put it to a 
vote.

[[Page 2428]]

Don't hide behind the Homeland Security bill and hold the President's 
work hostage. You never did it to the other Presidents. Don't do it to 
this President. How does it make sense to deport these moms, these 
dads, and these young kids?
  I mentioned before that I am the daughter of an immigrant mother. I 
tried to think of what my life would have been like without my mother. 
She gave me my conscience. She gave me my values. She gave me all the 
love and support I needed to pursue my dreams. I am the daughter of an 
immigrant mother who never graduated from high school. I am a Senator 
in the U.S. Senate. But they would have deported my mother. I would not 
be here today if it were not for my mom. So tell me how it makes sense 
to deport moms and dads and rip apart the lives of children.
  Our national security is at stake, our family values are at stake, 
and our economy is at stake here. So get over the fact that you don't 
like the President. We get it. You couldn't beat him. It is too bad for 
you. You are in charge here in the Senate. Do your job. Bring an 
immigration bill to the floor. Let's let this Homeland Security bill 
go. It is a bipartisan bill. It is funding for the most important issue 
we are dealing with today. Let's get to it. Don't hold it hostage 
because of your hatred of this President--and I use that word because 
that is what I think. That is what I think.
  In California alone, the President's Executive actions could boost 
California's economy by as much as $27.5 billion. The President's 
action will aid our economy. It will raise the Nation's gross domestic 
product by up to $90 billion over the next 10 years by expanding the 
labor force and allowing immigrant workers the flexibility to seek new 
jobs.
  Why is that the case? Why does every independent study show us this 
is the case? The reason is simple. When workers come out of the 
shadows, their wages rise, they open bank accounts, buy homes, start 
businesses, and spend money in their communities.
  So I say this to my Republican friends. There is a Presidential race 
coming up. Forget the last one. Get over it. Let's work together.
  Listen, I served with five Presidents. I am a strong Democrat. 
Everyone will tell you that. But I have respect for the office of the 
Presidency. If I didn't agree with Ronald Reagan, I came down here and 
said it. We had respect back and forth. If we lost, we lost, and we 
moved on. That went both ways.
  I know how it feels not to like the policies of a President. I get 
it. But don't overdo it and make it so personal. Get on with it. Grow 
up. Do your job. Have respect for the Office of the President. Don't 
suddenly say Executive orders are bad when the President you don't like 
does it, but you don't say one word when a Republican President does 
the same thing. It doesn't pass the smell test.
  Three things could not be more important in this battle. We need to 
fund our Department of Homeland Security--especially when we are facing 
serious threats to our security. We need to uphold our family values 
and not split up loving families, and we need to protect and grow our 
economy.
  We can do this in the simplest way. First, I say to House Speaker 
Boehner--because under the Constitution all funding bills start in the 
House: Send us a clean bill. Send us the bill that everybody supported 
before you took it hostage on this immigration issue. Send it over 
clean. Let's fund everything in that bill to protect our shopping 
malls, to give grants to our first responders, and to give grants to 
our local fire departments. Send it over. We will pass it, and 
immediately following that, we will bring up an immigration bill.
  We have it all ready for you. It passed with 68 votes. There is not 
much work to do. If you do that, the President's Executive order will 
not be necessary because we will have taken the steps ourselves to fix 
our broken immigration system.
  Let's stop the lawsuits. We have one judge who said there was 
overreach, but the next judge may say there is no overreach. Let's keep 
this out of the courts. Let's do our job. Let's stop the self-inflicted 
crisis. Let's stop the shadow that is hanging over the Nation. Let's do 
the right thing here.
  We can protect the American people from threats to our national 
security. We can protect and grow our economy, and we can treat hard-
working immigrants and their families with the dignity and respect they 
deserve. It all lies in the hands of Speaker Boehner and Leader 
McConnell.
  When you took over the Senate, you said: no more threats of 
shutdowns. Eight weeks later--not even 8 weeks--we are facing a 
shutdown of one of the most important departments. This is a disgrace, 
and it is self-inflicted. All you have to do is talk to Speaker 
Boehner. Send over a clean bill so we can vote on it. Then we will take 
up immigration, and you can show us all your great ideas on 
immigration.
  Let's hear it. Do you want to deport the DREAMers? Come on with it, 
and we will have a vote. You want to deport the parents? Come on with 
it, and we will have a vote. You want to kick 11 million people out of 
this country? Come on with it, and we will have a vote and debate on 
it. But don't hold the Department of Homeland Security hostage because 
of this issue.
  If there is one thing the American people hate more than anything 
else, it is attaching unrelated matters to spending bills. I don't care 
if they are conservative Republicans or liberal Democrats or 
Independent voters. They think it is the dumbest idea. They really do. 
They don't understand it.
  Pass your funding bills. Then battle your ideological issues 
separately and apart from that. Don't hold these departments hostage to 
your decision that President Obama did the wrong thing. If you don't 
like what he did, put forward your own bill. You have not even done 
that.
  I have been here a long time. I will tell you something. I have never 
seen anything like this. It is a self-inflicted wound. Who gets hurt? 
Not the Republicans--they will keep getting their pay. They are fine. 
The people who will be hurt are those whom we trust and count on and 
the families that thought they could stay together. They are on the 
verge of that. That is what this party--the Grand Old Party, the GOP--
have brought to us, but they can get out of it in 5 minutes.
  Speaker Boehner can pass a funding bill that will pass in a 
heartbeat. Send it over here, and we will pass it, turn to immigration, 
and then we can have it out on that subject. I think it is worthy of a 
debate. But don't hold an important funding bill hostage to that 
debate. It is ridiculous, unnecessary, destructive, and cruel.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Flake). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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