Peters Votes to Open Government and Continue Negotiations on ICE Funding

Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) released the following statement after voting to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. This bill includes five agencies' full-year FY26 appropriations bills and a two-week continuing resolution through February 13 for Homeland Security.

"ICE has become a militant force in our communities that uses excessive force and scare tactics to rip families apart while operating under weak training standards with no accountability for their actions. We saw this in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. But shutting the government down is not a strategy to resolve these issues. Instead, I've introduced a bill, the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act, to rein in ICE.

"My bill would place strict limits on the use of military-style equipment like tear gas and flash-bangs and masks, requirements for always-on body cameras and for agents to render medical aid and intervene when colleagues act unlawfully, and increased training so agents can truly de-escalate. This is how Congress can protect the American people without dragging them into another shutdown."

"Some of my colleagues believe that a shutdown could be the strategy to leverage control over ICE. But I disagree - shutdowns should not be used as leverage. I have no reason to believe that this shutdown would be anything other than chaos. ICE has already been funded for the next four years, totaling over $170 billion, thanks to Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans' so-called 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' Voting NO won't shut them down or take their money away. We need to take advantage of the next two weeks to fix DHS.

"As we saw during the 43-day shutdown at the end of last year, hardworking Americans have nothing to gain from a shutdown. In San Diego alone, tens of thousands of workers missed paychecks, SNAP benefits hung in limbo for 200,000 households, and travel delays and cancellations reached unprecedented levels. San Diego is also a proud military service community, and the hundreds of thousands of service members and federal workers in my district should never be used as collateral damage.

"Not only does this vote avoid a disastrous shutdown, but it also includes wins for San Diegans, and the American people. It includes vital project requests I secured for local infrastructure, homelessness programs, transit, and research at institutions like UCSD and Scripps. For the American people, it strengthens national defense, expands education programs, and bolsters public health programs. That's what responsible, results-driven governing looks like, and it's what my constituents deserve.

Background: On January 31, the government entered a partial shutdown because the Labor-HHS, Transportation-HUD, Defense, Financial Services and General Government, and National Security, Department of State, and Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bills did not become law. Aside from Homeland Security, Rep. Peters voted to pass these appropriations packages out of the House.

Today's vote finalizes the Senate-negotiated versions of the non-DHS appropriations bills. The remaining funding packages were completed through bicameral negotiations and returned to the House for final passage. DHS funding will continue to be negotiated separately.

After passing both chambers of Congress, these bills now head to the President's desk, and once signed, will reopen the government.

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