Senate Democrats on Tuesday asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bring up an FY ’15 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that excludes measures approved by the House that would prevent President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the vice chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member on the Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, spearheaded the effort to call on McConnell for a clean spending bill for DHS.
“The message we are sending today is clear,” Shaheen said in a statement. “We should not play politics with critical homeland security resources that keep our country safe.” In the letter, the senators wrote that “In light of recent events in Paris, Ottawa and Australia, the threat of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and the proliferation of foreign fighters that return home radicalized, DHS funding should not be tied to divisive political issues that could jeopardize this critical funding.”
The letter was signed by 45 senators, including two independents that caucus with the Democrats. Shaheen said that Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who is recovering from surgery related to a recreational accident he suffered on Jan. 1, also support a clean funding bill.
The House voted earlier this month to defund areas of DHS that would be responsible for carrying out Obama’s executive actions. The vote was largely along party lines with Republicans opposed to the president’s immigration plans.
If the Senate agrees with the House bill, the president is expected to veto the legislation.
The House bill provides $39.7 billion in appropriations for DHS. No date has been set in the Senate for consideration of the bill.