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Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, you know, I appreciate my colleague, but we have had more than 2 weeks. So where have you been? Where have you been?

This is a nonstarter. Come to the table. Let's give ICE the same training as local law enforcement, as our FBI. We want ICE agents that are transparent, trained, and accountable, not acting above the law.

So now we are almost a month into the Republican shutdown of Homeland Security. The Republicans control the White House, the House, and the Senate. So let's remember how we got here. Donald Trump and Kristi Noem were so, so eager to carry out their cruel mass deportation agenda that they actually cut training for ICE officers from 5 months--imagine this--to 47 days. Why 47 days? Well, you can't even make this up-- because it honors Donald Trump, who is the 47th President. So you cut down 5 months to 47 days. What are you thinking about adequate training?

By cutting training and increasing recruitment, Trump and Kristi Noem sent thousands of untrained agents with their guns and their badges into communities all across this country. They added deportation quotas for these officers to meet, and Trump and Kristi Noem pushed these untrained officers to round up as many people as they could wherever they could, and that included legal immigrants and American citizens. That is right.

Instead of deporting illegal, violent criminals--something we do all agree on, by the way--they went after legal permanent residents, visa holders, law-abiding citizens, with devastating consequences when we saw two of our fellow Americans brutally murdered in Minneapolis.

The American people were rightfully horrified and angry, and they demanded accountability, which is exactly what Senate Democrats are pushing for.

We proposed a commonsense, basic idea that ICE officers, well, should just be required to follow the same standards as our local law enforcement--all of my colleagues here--your law enforcement has to follow. That is it. Simple. We want ICE officers to wear body cams, end roving patrols, use judicial warrants, and to respect people's rights. It should be a no-brainer.

Democrats have been ready and willing in good faith to enact these commonsense reforms, fund the Department, and keep our country safe, and, shamefully, our Republican colleagues have refused to pass these reforms. They would rather see the Homeland Security Department shut down than pass commonsense guardrails to hold ICE accountable, rein them in, and as a result, the American people are paying the price. Travelers at our airports, seeing longer lines. TSA officers are being forced to work without pay.

As the Senator from Nevada, you are right--I know just how serious the situation is. My State relies heavily on tourism. More than 50 million visitors travel to Nevada every year to attend conventions, visit our beautiful public lands, enjoy live entertainment, sports, and we support hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers.

Air travel is the gateway to our economy, so when TSA staffing levels drop because officers aren't getting paid, wait times at airport security checkpoints stretch longer and longer. It doesn't just inconvenience travelers; it does undermine security and directly threatens jobs, businesses, and livelihoods across our State.

That is why I rise today with a very simple and practical proposal. If we can't move forward funding the entire Department--sitting down, negotiating in good faith, which you have had plenty of time to do already--we should be at least able to come together to pay the hard- working staff of one of its most essential components: TSA.

Let's not have TSA officers in the middle of this fight. They don't deserve it. We all agree their salaries should be funded, so let's fund it. Let's do it.

Today, I am asking my colleagues to take a simple step. Let's pass my legislation right now and pay the TSA workers so that commercial air travel remains safe and functional and our TSA agents receive the pay they have earned.

I am introducing this bill today with Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cantwell so we can finally get our airports moving again. If Republicans are going to insist on shutting down the Department of Homeland Security, they should at the very least join us in ensuring that the traveling public does not pay the price.

They even implied in their own tweet that they are for funding TSA, so let's see if that is true, because, you know what, tweets are easy. Tweets are easy. Talk is easy. Will they back up what they say with their votes? We are about to find out.

4073, submitted earlier today, and that would fund the TSA; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, we can fully fund DHS right now--right now--if Washington Republicans will just agree to commonsense reforms for ICE--the same ones that local law enforcement have: Identify yourself. Wear a body camera. It is good for the agent and for the community. Get full training. Respect our Bill of Rights. We want them to be trained, transparent, and accountable like every other law enforcement officer in this country.

I find it extremely disappointing that you haven't come to the table for those commonsense reforms so far. We can let the TSA and other parts of Homeland go and continue to negotiate. Let's remember that the Big Beautiful Bill gave tens of billions of dollars to ICE. They are not running out of money or any pay anytime soon.

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