WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Senate’s passage of a Department of Homeland Security funding package marks a step toward ending what she described as a damaging shutdown triggered by Democrats.
In a statement released from Washington, Collins said the package advances efforts to reopen the department after what she called five weeks of stalled negotiations.
“Passage of this package brings us closer to ending the reckless and harmful shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that Democrats triggered when they walked away from the bipartisan funding bill for the Department,” Collins said.
She said the original bipartisan measure included new safeguards and oversight provisions intended to protect both the public and law enforcement, including added funding for body-worn cameras and de-escalation training.
Collins also said Republicans made multiple attempts to reach a bipartisan agreement to reopen the department. According to her statement, those proposals included expanding the use of body-worn cameras, limiting civil immigration enforcement in sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals, increasing oversight of detention facilities, and requiring visible officer identification.
While Republicans continued to negotiate, Collins said Democrats remained unwilling to compromise.
“While Republicans worked in good faith to try to reach agreement, Democrats remained intransigent and unreasonable with their list of demands,” she said.
Collins went on to argue that Democrats have undermined the appropriations process by repeatedly forcing shutdowns and refusing to fund entire agencies. She specifically warned that refusing to fund ICE and Border Patrol weakens national security and could set a precedent with long-term consequences.
She said the shutdown has already had widespread effects, including disruption at airports, greater vulnerability to cyber and terrorist threats, delayed disaster response, and uncertainty for federal employees continuing to work without knowing when they will be paid.
“Today’s action moves us closer to ending the disastrous shutdown at the Department,” Collins said. “Moving forward, I remain committed to ensuring adequate funding to secure our borders.”
