Chairman Garbarino Opens Hearing on Democrat DHS Shutdown: “To Withhold Funding From the Department is Not Only Flawed but Immensely Dangerous”

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) delivered the following opening statement in a Committee hearing to examine the consequences of the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, in particular the impacts on the department's core missions, federal workforce, and interagency security coordination across the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), United States Coast Guard (USCG), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Funding for DHS and its components has been stalled by Democrats, despite bipartisan passage of a Fiscal Year 2026 DHS appropriations bill by the House of Representatives in January and March.

Witnesses include Admiral Thomas Allan, Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard; Ha Nguyen McNeill, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator of TSA; Nicholas Andersen, Acting Director of CISA; and Victoria Barton, Associate Administrator for the Office of External Affairs at FEMA.

Watch Chairman Garbarino's opening statement.

As prepared for delivery:

Good morning, I want to start by thanking our witnesses for appearing before the Committee today. Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats shut down the Department of Homeland Security 40 days ago. Their actions are reckless, dangerous, and unacceptable.

Today, we are fortunate to hear from the leadership of four DHS components that have been dealing with the direct impacts this shutdown has placed on their agencies, their missions, and their workforce.

It is unfortunate that Senate Democrats chose to shut down DHS and weaken our national security posture for their own political gain, especially at such a critical time and heightened threat environment across the homeland.

Senate Democrats have repeatedly held up and voted against a bipartisan, bicameral deal to fund DHS for Fiscal Year 2026. Recent developments in the Senate are showing some potential momentum towards hopefully ending this harmful shutdown soon. If a deal is proposed, we look forward to reviewing it quickly.

But the fact is that DHS is still shut down today, and we should never have been in this position in the first place. And once this shutdown eventually does end, the Department and its workforce will be left dealing with the damaging consequences of it for a long time, and lawmakers need to be prepared to support them - another reason why our hearing is so important.

I expect Members on the other side of the aisle to speak today about how they support funding for some DHS agencies, including those appearing before us here today, such as TSA. But they do not support the rest of DHS, including ICE and CBP.

To withhold funding from the Department is not only flawed but immensely dangerous. The Department of Homeland Security was created after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, in direct response to the operational siloes among security agencies and general failures in coordination and information sharing.

As a lifelong New Yorker and the representative of a community forever marked by the September 11th terrorist attacks, the mission of the Department is deeply personal for me. Twenty-five years later, its purpose is essential as ever.

Putting the fragmented pieces together under a single entity was the primary objective in creating the Department of Homeland Security. The Department exists to ensure that all the agencies and personnel, entrusted with protecting the lives of the American people, are working together to accomplish their interconnected missions to protect, defend, and secure the homeland.

Democrats have argued to throw out that framework by proposing Congress fund some DHS agencies but not others. This approach would dangerously degrade interagency coordination.

Responding to threats, protecting the American people, and preparing the country for future events requires the coordinated effort of dozens of DHS agencies and hundreds of thousands of dedicated individuals all working together to accomplish the Department's no fail mission. The shutdown has caused massive disruptions across our airports and travel system nationwide, weakened our nation's cybersecurity posture, and left states unsupported.

With less than 100 days until the start of major events across the United States, such as the FIFA World Cup, Sail250, and America250, we cannot afford to let DHS go unfunded and unsupported.

TSA security officers, CISA cyber defenders, civilian Coast Guard personnel, and FEMA emergency management professionals, while deemed essential, are going unpaid. The Trump Administration has been able to pay military and law enforcement personnel, but this is not a long-term solution.

We must focus on funding the DHS workforce. These are public servants who care about the Department's mission. These men and women keep our nation safe every day. We need the best and brightest to defend the United States from sophisticated adversaries and dynamic threats, and this dysfunction and uncertainty only makes it harder for DHS to recruit and retain talented public servants.

Washington cannot continue to disrespect and devalue their work without consequence. While back pay is helpful in the long run, mortgage payments, rent, healthcare, childcare, car, and electric bills were due yesterday. Providing food for your family cannot be put on hold while Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats play politics with national security.

I am extremely concerned about the long-term impacts that this shutdown will have--and has already had--compounded by the lingering impacts of the 43-day shutdown that DHS experienced last fall--on the recruitment and retention of DHS personnel. Over 1,550 TSOs have left TSA during the past two shutdowns. It takes four to six months to onboard and train a new TSO. With the FIFA World Cup, across 11 U.S. cities, starting June 11th, millions of international fans are expected to travel through our nation's airports. This presents a dire situation, both in terms of efficiency and security, and it only gets worse each passing day.

In the last several weeks, we have seen acts of violence across the country, from Austin, Texas, to West Bloomfield, Michigan, and ISIS-inspired attacks at Old Dominion University and in New York City, reminding us of the persistent threat of terrorism we face and why a fully funded and functional DHS is so critical.

New leadership at the Department, with Secretary Markwayne Mullin, presents an opportunity to make improvements across the board and move forward together.

This shutdown is not a game, and frankly, I am tired of it being treated like one. The stakes are too high. We owe it to the American people to stop the political games, to fund DHS, and to get back to regular order.

I hope all my colleagues will use this opportunity today to hear from the witnesses about the harmful operational and security impacts that this shutdown has caused and the long-term consequences that we need to be prepared to address. I look forward to a productive conversation with our leaders here today.

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