[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2533-2534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              FUNDING THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

  (Ms. KUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security is 
charged with safeguarding our Nation from acts of terrorism, drug 
trafficking, and many other serious threats.
  Whether they serve in the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Customs and 
Border Protection, or elsewhere, the men and women who work for the 
Department of Homeland Security in my home State of New Hampshire and 
across this country play a vital role in keeping our families safe; yet 
Congress is poised to shut down DHS this Friday for partisan political 
reasons.
  This would undermine our security and impact hardworking men and 
women from across my district, like

[[Page 2534]]

Darrell, from Groveton, New Hampshire, who serves in the Coast Guard, 
and Lee, another Granite Stater, who works for Customs and Border 
Protection. She wrote to me recently and said: ``No one wins if this 
political standoff continues.''
  I agree. We were elected to work together in the best interest of 
those we represent, not to play partisan political games.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 
861, the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would 
keep the Department of Homeland Security open so it can carry out its 
mission of keeping the American people safe.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under guidelines consistently issued by 
successive Speakers, as recorded in section 956 of the House Rules and 
Manual, the Chair is constrained not to entertain the request unless it 
has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships.

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