Senator Van Hollen says Democrats are “not obstructing” DHS funding

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Sunday that his party is not blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security after House Republicans did not vote on the Senate-passed bill to fund most of the department.

“We’re not withholding all the money for the entire Department of Homeland Security,” Van Hollen told ABC News’ “This Week” host Jonathan Karl. “This is just a false statement. We have said over and over again, we must finance [the Transportation Security Administration]”.

Democrats blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security more than a month ago, demanding reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after federal agents shot and killed US citizens Renee Judd and Alex Peretti in Minneapolis. Since the shutdown began, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have lost pay and been recalled from work, leading to hours-long lines at the nation’s busiest airport.

Democrats have since proposed passing a bill to fund components of the Department of Homeland Security, including TSA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while leaving funding for ICE unless reforms are made. The Senate unanimously approved such a proposal early Friday morning, but House Republicans did not take up the measure, instead passing a bill to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.

“You had a bipartisan bill, Republican and Democratic, that passed the Senate that would immediately fund the entire TSA and, by the way, FEMA and the Coast Guard as we continue to negotiate reforms to ICE, which is an illegal ICE operation. The Republican Speaker of the House refused to even vote on that in the House and went home.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise defended the chamber’s position on Sunday, telling Karl that some senators regret voting without sharing their names.

“We’ve already read their bill, and frankly, a number of senators have expressed buyer’s remorse for what they did at 3 a.m.,” Scalise said. “One of the things that we had real concerns about is that it actually defunds more than 25% of DHS’s core operations, and 25% at a time when we’re at a high threat level.”

Karl pressed Van Hollen on what Democrats would push for after the Trump administration approved some reforms demanded by Democrats, including body cameras for ICE agents.

“Let me ask you, the White House agreed to some reforms, while you were negotiating all of this… what happened because of that? I mean, that was at least something you were getting,” Carl asked.

“They were not willing to make meaningful reforms, in my view,” Van Hollen said. “We want some independent, credible review. We don’t think you can trust the agency that labeled Rene Judd and Alex Peretti as domestic terrorists to conduct a credible, independent investigation. I mean, do you think that would be credible? They’ve refused to do that.”