Watch Senator Rosen’s Full Remarks HERE.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Republicans have once again blocked U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) attempt to pass her bill to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers amidst the Republican shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. As the shutdown reaches its sixth week, travelers are forced to wait for hours in security lines at airports as TSA agents are forced to work without pay. Senator Rosen’s bill would ensure TSA agents get paid for their work, despite Washington Republicans holding DHS funding hostage over their unwillingness to put guardrails on ICE. Earlier this month, Senator Rosen tried to pass this bill but Senate Republicans blocked it.
Below is a transcript of Senator Rosen’s remarks:
As we enter spring and schools across the nation approach their Spring Breaks, millions of families will soon be traveling.
They’ll be relying on our airports to travel, to visit family, to go on vacation.
But unfortunately, they will be met with longer lines because Washington Republicans refuse to pay our TSA agents.
That’s right. The Department of Homeland Security is currently without funding because Washington Republicans would rather see it shut down than pass commonsense guardrails on ICE.
In fact, every Senate Republican present voted just this past weekend against paying our TSA agents.
As a result, the American people are paying the price.
And when TSA staffing levels drop because officers aren’t getting paid, wait times at airport security checkpoints stretch longer and longer.
This doesn’t just inconvenience travelers, it undermines security and directly threatens jobs and livelihoods.
The situation is so dire at our airports that the Trump Administration is going to send untrained ICE agents to our airports, untrained ICE agents to try to do the job of our highly trained TSA agents.
That’s why I rise yet again with a simple, practical proposal to pay our hardworking TSA agents, pay them right now. They deserve it.
If we cannot move forward with funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security, we should at least be able to come together on this.
The Trump Administration and Senate leadership are having ongoing negotiations on the guardrails on ICE, and TSA officers should not be caught in the middle of that fight.
So, today I’m asking my colleagues to take just a simple step: pass my legislation right now to pay TSA workers, so that commercial air travel remains safe and functional.
And let me just say this: claiming that you will not pay TSA agents because this bill doesn’t fund the entire Department, it is an excuse.
If Washington Republicans truly believe that, then why did they agree to fund literally everything else in our government except for DHS?
If it has to be all-or-nothing like they’re now claiming, then why agree to fund the parts of our government where we have an agreement and leave DHS unfunded?
I can tell you why: because they know it’s the right thing to do. They know that other government employees shouldn’t be penalized for the President’s mass deportation agenda.
And that’s why we’re asking for this today. Don’t penalize TSA and the traveling public for the fact that you refuse to rein in ICE and have them be accountable, have them be trained, transparent, and accountable like every other law enforcement agency in this country.
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