House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their committee and subcommittee rosters for the Appropriations Committee, naming Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) their top lawmaker on the panel overseeing funding of the Department of Homeland Security.
Cuellar, who is considered a moderate, is joined by fellow Democrats Lauren Underwood (Ill.), Ed Case (Hawaii) and David Trone (Md.). Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the full committee, is an ex officio member of the subcommittee.
Cuellar has been an opponent of erecting a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico but he is a proponent of border security technologies such as cameras, radars and other sensors to help guard against illegal activity. He also favors “digital border security technology” because it is significantly less expensive than physical barriers, which also require roads and gates.
In July 2022, when the Homeland Security Subcommittee was marking up proposed fiscal year 2023 funding for DHS, Cuellar said he backed an amendment by Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) to provide long-lead time material funding for a 12th Coast Guard national security cutter. Palazzo lost the Republican primary last year to Mike Ezell who now sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, which oversees policies for DHS.
Cuellar is also a proponent of the use of non-intrusive inspection systems to scan vehicles and cargo containers for contraband and other illicit items as they enter the U.S. at land ports of entry. In July 2020, he lauded the subcommittee’s markup that month that added NII funding for outbound inspections to help interdict illegal currency and guns leaving the U.S. and destined for Mexican drug cartels.
Underwood was also on the subcommittee previously. Case and Trone are new to the panel. The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio).
Separately, on Wednesday, House Democrats announced their roster for the Homeland Security Committee in the 118th Congress, with Bennie Thompson (Miss.) serving as ranking member. Thompson chaired the committee previously.
Returning Democrats on the committee include Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Donald Payne (N.J.), Californians Eric Swalwell and Lou Correa, Dina Titus (Nev.), and Yvette Clarke (N.Y.). Democrats joining the committee are Troy Carter (La.), Shri Thanedar (Mich.), Seth Magaziner (R.I.), Glen Ivey (Md.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Dan Goldman (N.Y.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.) and Rob Menendez (N.J.).