LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada lawmakers are chiming in on the nearly two-month-long partial government shutdown. It comes as more than 500 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began Feb. 14, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, because they are not getting paid.
Thousands of TSA workers have also called out, the spokesperson said.
President Trump issued an order to fund paychecks for TSA workers, but the order does not cover all federal workers impacted by the shutdown.
MORE: TSA workers receive paychecks after 40 days, other federal employees still waiting
Congressional response
Rep. Dina Titus, spoke out Tuesday about what is holding up lawmakers from reaching a deal.
“The big sticking point is payment for ICE. We want to pay all the other agencies. We voted to pay all the other agencies,” Titus said. “I certainly support that. But unless you put some guardrails on ICE, we don’t want to move forward with just giving them an open checkbook. And the provisions that we want to add to make ICE is only to make them behave the same way all other law enforcement does. You don’t see police officers wearing masks or not identifying themselves. Police officers can’t break into your home without a warrant.”
Congresswoman Susie Lee said, “Republicans had a choice, literally the other day, to accept an agreement that the Senate had passed unanimously. All Democrats and Republicans had come together to pass a funding bill. And they chose not to do it. They chose to take the extreme route. And that’s why this government shutdown continues.”
Rep. Steven Horsford said, “I have met with and listened to TSA workers at Harry Reid International Airport. I understand how tough it is to show up to a job that you’re not getting paid for. Now, through the executive order that was issued, the back pay that was due to them has been made. But that’s not enough because that doesn’t create the certainty that they need for the long term. And so, I’m going to continue to do my job, to show up, to vote, to reach consensus, to build a bipartisan agreement that can ultimately pass Congress. Because the TSA workers here at Harry Reid deserve nothing less.”
White House response
After checks were issued to TSA workers on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear: President Trump will not continue to bail out Congress on this issue.
“The president just can’t keep signing presidential memorandums and proclamations every time Congress fails to do its job,” Leavitt said. “And every time Democrats are holding our entire country hostage, picking and choosing which programs and agencies they want to fund just because they don’t like this administration’s policies.”
Leavitt also said President Trump is encouraging Congress to come back to Washington to permanently fix this problem and to fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security entirely.
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