California Officials Warn That a Shutdown Would Slow Down Disaster Recovery Operations, Like the Rim Fire and Napa Earthquake
February 10, 2015 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) spoke on the Senate floor today to urge Senate Republicans to avoid a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and severe impacts on states such as California by bringing a clean Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill to a vote.
“With terrorists all around us, Republicans are willing to play politics with critical funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” Senator Boxer said. “They threaten to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Now let’s talk about what that means. You would stop command and control activities at DHS headquarters, disrupt important programs to detect weapons of mass destruction and train local law enforcement, and force critical front-line personnel like Border Patrol agents to work without pay.”The funding for the Department of Homeland Security will run out in 18 days – on February 27th. Instead of a passing a clean bill to fund the agency responsible for protecting Americans here at home, Republicans are pushing an extreme measure that would tear apart millions of immigrant families.
California received over $215 million in grants during the last fiscal year to help state and local authorities respond to national security threats and prepare for natural disasters, and the GOP’s actions are putting this funding at risk. California emergency officials also predict that a shutdown funding would lead to slowdowns in ongoing disaster recovery operations like the Rim Fire and Napa Earthquake.
