Tertulia

Institutions that lose popular legitimacy historically become targets of extralegal pressure, and the Court should take that seriously as a reason to reform rather than as a reason to demand insulation from criticism.

It’s past time for the government to make sure that TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers at airports and air traffic controllers are paid for the job they do. In these times when it’s hard to reach consensus on just about anything, it is significant that the vast majority of Americans want Congress to pay federal aviation workers, keep our National Airspace System secure and ensure travelers and packages can get to their destinations safely.

Republicans have once again blocked funding for the vast majority of the Department of Homeland Security. Unless Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) get another $28 billion with no reforms, TSA agents will not be paid, Coast Guard Servicemembers will be hung out to dry, and the federal disaster relief fund will remain dangerously depleted. That is the Republican position.

If Republicans were truly concerned about the impacts of this shutdown, they could easily fund FEMA, TSA, CISA, the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard. I have already introduced legislation that would do just that, while allowing negotiations over ICE and CBP to continue on a separate track. Republicans in the House have blocked my legislation, and Republicans in the Senate today blocked similar measures.

It is nothing but political theater. Republicans must allow my measure to come to the Floor for a vote, and stop using the shutdown as leverage to extract even more money for agencies that violate the law with no accountability.

— Rosa DeLauro