Some of the Proposed Amendments to the DHS Funding Bill Were Wild
Plus, Rep. Lauren Underwood rocked her debut as the ranking member of the House subcommittee for Homeland Security funding
Giving us more insight into how a far-right-controlled Congress would operate, House Republicans on Wednesday proposed amendments that were counterintuitive even for them. Standing out was the successful vote to defund Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ salary as part of the larger appropriations bill for DHS.
The amendment to withhold the salary prohibits DHS from using funds in the bill to pay Mayorkas. But some of the other proposed amendments to the funding bill were just as far-fetched and somewhat senseless.
During a debate, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) justified defunding Mayorkas’ salary by again highlighting about a dozen criminals who happen to be migrants out of the millions of non-criminal migrants who reside in the U.S.
Meanwhile, she continues to ignore the rising gun violence among children and teens, the explosion of rape pregnancies in many states after abortion bans, and violent crimes against women across the country. Never a mention of the record number of police killings of civilians either.
Greene later introduced an amendment to stop funding Safe Mobility Offices in Latin America which provide services to migrants. Those services prevent human trafficking and unnecessary risks to life and open legal pathways to migrate to the U.S. These offices help prevent irregular migration by preventing migrants from traveling thousands of miles only to get denied once they the reach theU.S.-Mexico border.
Since much of the debate has been focused on “root” causes and many on the political right often suggesting that migrants should have to apply in their home countries, Greene’s move to defund Safe Mobility Offices flies in the face of those who claim to support “legal” migration and exposes the more xenophobic and racist nature of her beliefs. It would also help if she knew how Safe Mobility Offices operated, but, I digress.
In her debut as the ranking member of the House subcommittee that drafts DHS funding after replacing Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) after he was indicted on bribery charges, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) did not mince words clapping back on Republicans and their amendments by explaining to them how the things they want to cut work and their benefits to taxpayers.
Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) proposed an amendment to cut funding to the Shelter Services Program that helps migrants with the basics as they adjust to the U.S. Like Greene, Amodei doesn’t appear to understand how the program works and is only focused on what he sees on the surface to help spread hyperbolic misinformation about the program.
Again, Rep. Underwood had to take Amodei to school.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) pulled no punches when he suggested reallocating the funds away from former president Donald Trump’s failed border wall and giving it back to local governments and nonprofits that provide migrant services.
Watching these debates devolve into nonsensical rantings and aggression on the part of Republicans and knowing they have done nothing to help address any issues at the border is beyond frustrating but not surprising. Republicans have been doing this for decades. Their rhetoric has simply become much more escalatory and offensive. That’s intentional.
They feed on their own fears - which are also harbored by their base - and create false narratives that drive panic that later leads to animus toward nonwhite, non-cis, and non-male groups. They know exactly what they’re doing. They have their predecessors to look up to and how U.S. society largely let them get away with their bigotry.
Today’s Republicans are expecting the same dismissive treatment their predecessors encountered. And they’re largely getting it. Looking ahead, propagandizing everything is how the Republican Party intends to continue moving forward. This is their strategy.
BONUS
Since Rep. Underwood did so well in her debut as the ranking member of the House subcommittee for DHS funding, here’s one more of her dropping some knowledge on Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) who wanted to prevent DHS from implementing rules without congressional approval.
Not sure Republicans thought they were going to school when they woke up Wednesday morning but Rep. Underwood stood on business all day.
Class dismissed.
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