[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              DHS SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Jeffries) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, in less than 2 days, House Republicans are 
prepared to shut down the Department of Homeland Security, threatening 
the safety of the American people.
  At home, there is a noted and beloved philosopher by the name of Yogi 
Berra, who once said, ``It's like deja vu all over again.''
  And once more, House Republicans are taking the American people on 
another reckless, unnecessary, irresponsible legislative joy ride, 
guaranteed to crash and burn. You did it first in October of 2013 by 
shutting down the government for 16 days, crashing and burning parts of 
the American economy, costing us $24 billion in lost economic 
productivity. Now you are prepared to crash and burn the safety and the 
security of the American people.
  Why would you contemplate, Mr. Speaker, such a reckless action, 
particularly at a time when there are terrorists all across the world 
who want to kill Americans, including, as recently uncovered, three 
terrorists at home in New York determined, apparently, to bomb parts of 
the Coney Island district I represent? Why would you contemplate 
shutting down the Department of Homeland Security at this moment--or at 
any moment--simply to satisfy the rightwing thirst of the anti-
immigration faction of your party?
  Let me pause there parenthetically for a moment.
  Because they seem to have concluded that this President exceeded his 
authority when he issued an executive action providing immigration 
relief, notwithstanding the fact that every President since Dwight 
Eisenhower has taken executive action to provide some form of 
immigration relief. It has occurred 39 times since the 1950s. President 
Eisenhower did it. President Nixon did it. President Ford did it. 
President Reagan did it. President George Herbert Walker Bush did it. 
President George W. Bush did it. But when President Obama issues an 
executive action to provide immigration relief to fit these times, all 
of a sudden, we have got a constitutional crisis.
  Now, perhaps reasonable people can disagree with the lawfulness of 
his order, but the reasonable approach would be to allow the courts to 
work it out, not shutting down the Department of Homeland Security.
  Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle are so-called 
strict constructionists. What would the constitution have us do? Well, 
we have got an article I legislative branch, an article II executive 
branch, and an article III judicial branch. The Founders have 
indicated, I believe, that they would have us work out constitutional 
differences through the court system, not by shutting down the 
Department of Homeland Security--causing 30,000 employees to have to go 
home and another 210,000 employees to have to come to work without pay, 
stressed, suffering from anxiety, uncertain as to how to pay their 
bills, pay their mortgage, pay their rent, pay their medical expenses. 
Do we want to subject our Homeland Security employees to that type of 
anxiety when terrorists only have to be right once and we have to be 
right 100 percent of the time?
  Then I was troubled, Mr. Speaker, to learn that, apparently, you 
haven't spoken to Mitch McConnell in several weeks. The people back 
home in the district that I represent and Americans all across the 
country are shaking their heads. I know you don't like talking to Nancy 
Pelosi. I know you didn't like talking to Harry Reid. You don't like 
talking to the President of the United States. But you can't have a 
conversation with Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell? It 
is not a long commute from this side of the Capitol to the other side 
of the Capitol. In fact, Mr. Speaker, you can take the train. Is it not 
reasonable that you have a conversation to try to work this out?
  The American people want us to focus on bigger paychecks, better 
jobs, retirement security, higher education affordability, 
strengthening the middle class; instead, you are throwing a legislative 
temper tantrum, jeopardizing the safety and security of the American 
people? Shame on you. Let's get back to doing America's business.

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