February 3rd, 2015 by WCBC Radio

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) called on the Republican leadership in the Senate and House to take up and allow a vote on a clean appropriations bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He issued the following statement:

“We have an obligation to protect the American people. Given the terrorist threat we face both at home at abroad, it is irresponsible to continue to fund the Department of Homeland Security with short-term budgets or bring them to the edge of an agency shutdown. We also should not force hardworking federal workers to stand in the crossfire between Congress and the President. Providing the resources that our federal, state, and local law enforcement officers need to carry out their vital, around-the-clock mission should not be caught up in partisan political disagreements. We need a clean appropriations bill for DHS.

“No matter what side of this debate you are on, most of us agree that America’s immigration system is badly broken. Comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue. We need a balanced immigration system that is fair. My strong preference is that Congress sends the President a comprehensive immigration reform bill that he can sign into law. This would provide a more thorough and more permanent solution than executive actions. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill in the last Congress and I am sure we can do so again. My hope is that the House will take it up so that we can come together in a bipartisan way to reconcile our differences.”