Speaker Boehner's Reckless DHS Strategy 'At Risk'
From Wall Street Journal:
GOP's Immigration Strategy Is at Risk
Congressional Republicans…said Thursday their options…are dwindling…Republicans locked in a partisan stalemate…face internal tensions over how much they can expect to accomplish with their slim Senate majority.
The strategy has left the GOP in a familiar situation. "Every time that we come up against one of these deadlines where we're talking about shutting down the government or in this case, part of the government, there are never good options," said Rep. Tom Rooney (R., Fla.) "The ironic thing is now we can't even blame it on a divided Congress."
Republicans said they weren't sure how they would find a resolution to the standoff. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) offered little advice to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) over how to proceed…In the past, Mr. Boehner has turned to House Democrats to help pass spending bills needed to keep the government running in the face of GOP resistance. But GOP aides and lawmakers said Mr. Boehner won't bring a bill just funding the Homeland Security to the House floor now, a move that would be seen as an embarrassing capitulation less than two months after Republicans claimed full control of Congress.
From The Hill:
DHS shutdown grows more likely…by the day
Of the more than 230,000 employees who work for DHS, the vast majority — around 200,000 — would continue to work…without paychecks… a shutdown could deal a blow to department morale, which is an especially delicate question at DHS… A shutdown would also keep the department from hiring and training new employees, which would prevent the government from filling vacancies…DHS would not operate federal law enforcement training centers under a shutdown… A prolonged lapse in appropriations could also increase the costs of government programs due to late- or non-payments on existing contracts.
From NBC News:
What a Homeland Security Shutdown Would Look Like
Law enforcement training would cease, which includes civil rights and civil liberties training. And during the last shutdown civil rights and civil liberties complaint lines and investigations were suspended…A department shutdown would also mean a delay in hiring additional Secret Service agents for the 2016 presidential election and that E-Verify…would stop functioning…Particularly troublesome to local communities could be the impact a funding lapse would have on grants. The department helps fund first responders in all 50 states, along with supporting additional equipment and security personnel throughout the country. A prolonged funding hiatus could eliminate some of the jobs dependent on those grants.
Efforts put into place after the Sept. 11 attacks to help coordinate and improve communication in the field would be significantly impacted... those who work to keep the country safe would not be paid…On top of it all, simply having to operate one of the country's most important departments under the threat of running out of money in a matter of weeks leads to uncertainty, which impacts Homeland Security's ability to respond to new threats and natural disasters.