Hoyer: I Ask My Republican Colleagues to End Their Games, Work With Us to Keep America Safe

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) spoke on the House Floor this afternoon to urge House Republicans to work with Democrats to pass a clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security and prevent a shutdown. Below is a transcript of his remarks and a link to the video.

Click here to watch the video.

“Mr. Speaker, the Congress has five legislative days left until February 27. We have five days in which we're going to meet in order to send the President an appropriations bill that he can sign to keep the Department of Homeland Security from shutting down.

“The Republican leader in the Senate [Mitch McConnell] says the House ought to act. The Speaker says the Senate ought to act. Somebody needs to act. Somebody needs to act like an adult. Somebody needs to fund the security and safety of the American people. Their own Senate colleagues disagree with their strategy of holding national security hostage to their political goals on immigration.

“We face, as all of us know, very real threats, which is why we cannot let the Department's funding lapse. If the Republicans want to debate immigration policy, then bring an immigration bill to the Floor. Don't hold our security hostage. I ask my Republican colleagues to end their games and instead work with us to keep America safe.”