Three Prominent Former DHS Secretaries: Do 'Not Risk [DHS] Funding...Pass A Clean Bill'
…Not to ‘risk funding for the operations that protect every American'
The three former heads of the Department of Homeland Security are warning Congress not to hold up funding for the sprawling department…The three former secretaries of homeland security – two Republicans and one Democrat [Republicans Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff and Democrat Janet Napolitano] – say in a letter…that a prolonged fight could risk national security at a time of sustained threats from terrorist groups.
The House passed a new spending bill [that] repeals significant changes in immigration…On Wednesday, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) also said that he is working on filing a lawsuit to challenge Obama's executive actions..."…we cannot emphasize enough that the DHS's responsibilities are much broader than its responsibility to oversee the federal immigration agencies and to protect our borders…funding for the entire agency should not be put in jeopardy by the debate about immigration."…"It is imperative that we ensure that DHS is ready, willing and able to protect the American people…we urge you not to risk funding for the operations that protect every American and to pass a clean DHS funding bill."
Ridge was named the nation's first homeland security secretary in 2003 when the department was established by President George W. Bush. Chertoff, a former federal judge, held the job from 2005 until the end of the Bush administration.
As Drew Hammill, spokesman for Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says: "Republicans need to put an end to their reckless tactics and internal bickering. Their temper tantrums are jeopardizing the safety of the American people and the funding of the Department of Homeland Security – all in a shameless effort to placate their anti-immigrant elements. We must pass a clean DHS bill and end these shut down shenanigans right away."