GOP Take Another Shot at DHS Funding   03/05 06:02

   Republicans are invoking the war in Iran and the prospect of retaliatory 
terrorist attacks as they tee up votes Thursday on a funding bill for the 
Department of Homeland Security.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans are invoking the war in Iran and the prospect 
of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tee up votes Thursday on a funding 
bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

   The House already approved a DHS spending bill in January, but it faltered 
in the Senate as Democrats insisted on changes to immigration enforcement 
operations following the shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in 
Minneapolis. As a result, funding for the department lapsed on Feb. 14.

   Republicans are calling on Democrats to reconsider their vote in the wake of 
the conflict in Iran. Both the House and the Senate are expected to hold votes 
on the matter.

   "The military action in Iran makes it all more urgent and crucial to have a 
fully funded, fully staffed DHS across all its departments," House Speaker Mike 
Johnson said.

   It did not appear the GOP's strategy had changed the position of Democratic 
lawmakers, though. They said they are prepared to fund most of the agencies at 
the department, just not Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and 
Border Protection.

   "It's the same lousy, rotten bill that does not put any guardrails or 
constraints on ICE or CBP after federal agents shot American citizens in the 
street," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

   Workers are beginning to miss part of their paychecks

   Following the longest federal shutdown in the country's history last year, 
Congress has completed work on 11 of this year's 12 appropriations bills. Only 
the bill for Homeland Security remains outstanding.

   Republicans said the timing couldn't be worse for a Homeland Security 
shutdown. While a large majority of the department's employees are considered 
essential and continue to work, many will not receive a full paycheck this week.

   Republicans said the prospect of an increase in unscheduled absences by the 
Transportation Security Administration's agents and screeners could lead to 
longer wait times at the nation's airports. Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency has canceled various assessments to determine 
vulnerabilities to critical infrastructure. And training for first responders 
conducted through the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been canceled.

   "Can we not understand America is under siege, now likely to be attacked 
because radical Islam is under siege, and they're going to hit back and we're 
sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS," Sen. Lindsey Graham, 
R-S.C., said during a hearing Tuesday featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

   Democrats are seeking several changes at the department include prohibiting 
ICE enforcement operations at sensitive locations like schools and churches, 
allowing independent investigations into alleged wrongdoing, requiring warrants 
to be signed by judges before federal agents can forcibly enter private homes 
or other nonpublic spaces without consent, and requiring agents to wear 
identification and remove their masks.

   Republicans note that the bill does include a bipartisan provision directing 
more resources for deescalation training and $20 million to outfit immigration 
enforcement agents with body-worn cameras.

   Little to show from negotiations

   The White House and congressional Democrats don't appear to have made 
significant progress in recent weeks resolving their differences after trading 
several offers.

   "Look, we're still far apart but we're negotiating and exchanging paper back 
and forth," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

   Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the Republican chairwoman of a panel that oversees 
homeland security funding, said she's been talking to Democrats about a 
possible pathway forward, but prospects are unclear.

   She and other Republicans are citing last weekend's mass shooting in Austin 
as an example of the dangerous threat environment that's facing Americans 
following the attack on Iran.

   "I think that it is incredibly irresponsible to not fund the agency that is 
supposed to keep us safe here at home," Britt said.

   Democrats said they are ready to fully fund all the agencies within the 
department except for ICE and CBP.

   Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations 
Committee, authored a proposal to do that, but it was blocked from 
consideration. She said Republican leadership was using Trump's "aimless, 
costly and illegal war with Iran to force through more funding for ICE and 
Customs and Border Protection without any of the substantial changes that the 
vast majority of Americans believe those agencies need."

   "It is a cynical effort and it is one that will fail," DeLauro said.