Thompson Statement Opposing FY2013 DHS Appropriations Act
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement on passage of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (H.R. 5855):
The DHS Appropriations Bill for FY2013 does not fully meet nor adequately fund our nation's homeland security needs. This is why I opposed and voted against this partisan piece of legislation.
Homeland Security grant programs, while increased over last year, are still dramatically slashed from FY2010 and FY2011 levels. This bill also fails to put the US VISIT – a vital border security and immigration enforcement program — on a course to address the alien overstay problem. H.R. 5855 also does not adequately fund infrastructure protection programs at a time when both chemical security and ammonium nitrate protection efforts are at a critical crossroads.
I am also disturbed that H.R. 5855 is full of political sweeteners intended to rally support from the extreme right-wing faction of the Republican party. From slashing funding for the Transportation Security Agency, to increasing funding for the 287(g) program, to abortion limitations in ICE detention facilities, H.R. 5855 is full of politically-driven provisions that distract from pressing homeland security matters and divert resources from addressing them.
Read Ranking Member Thompson's full statement for the Record
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