Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the DHS funding bill:
“At a time of rising costs on everything from health care premiums to groceries and utility bills, everyone in the federal government should be working together in a bipartisan way to bring down costs and improve the lives of Americans.
“Instead, President Trump shows every day that he is more interested in literally anything else — whether it is stealing Greenland, increasing costs on Americans through his reckless tariffs, decorating the White House, or blocking critical funding to our communities and small businesses.
“Most alarmingly, this administration has used DHS to terrorize and intimidate American citizens. Simply put, ICE and DHS are out of control. They openly lie to the American people, disregard our constitutional rights, and undermine the trust law enforcement must have to serve and protect the public.
“Separating children from families, pepper-spraying pastors, and disrupting local residents and small businesses is unacceptable. The murder of American citizens is intolerable. I cannot and will not support further funding of DHS without increased accountability and reform of the agency.
“A government shutdown is completely avoidable. Republicans must join Democrats in advancing the other five funding bills separately and then work in a bipartisan fashion to secure reasonable reforms to restore public safety and trust for any DHS funding bill to move forward.”
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