Correspondence - Item 27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ignoring Cybersecurity On the matter of cybersecurity, once again, Republicans say one thing a do another. Despite the Chairman's pronouncement that the 119th Congress would be devoted to improving the Nation's cybersecurity, there is not one penny in the Homeland Security Committee's reconciliation title devoted to the issue. And, although the Committee did not allocate the full $90 billion allotted to it in the budget resolution, Republicans unanimously rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Magaziner that would have provided funding to rehire and retain highly sought-after employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) the Trump administration indiscriminately fired or harassed into quitting in order to pass off the savings as tax cuts to billionaires. They also rejected an amendment by Rep. Swalwell that would have barred the Department from including veterans—among best trained and most devoted public employees in the Federal Government—from being included in reductions in force. If the Chairman is waiting to find his so-called "cyber border" before investing in cybersecurity, he will be waiting a long time, and Americans will pay the price. This tone-deaf reconciliation package ignores serious threats facing the Nation—including cyber threats from Russia, China and its typhoon campaign, Iran, and cyber criminals—while turning a blind eye to the administration's reckless dismantling of America's cybersecurity agency. From election security, to threat hunting, to security by design, the Trump administration is gutting the core services CISA offers governments and the private sector alike, and Committee Republicans do not care. Failing the Workforce The Republican reconciliation package provides tens of billions of dollars to DHS for border security at the same time as the Trump administration undermines the government workers who actually protect the homeland. Rep. Correa proposed an amendment to prohibit DHS from using its funding to harm homeland security workers by undermining or canceling collective bargaining agreements, but Republicans rejected that amendment. Meanwhile, President Trump issued an executive order undermining collective bargaining at DHS agencies like USCIS and ICE,19 and Secretary Noem announced that DHS would cancel its collective bargaining agreement with the union representing TSA Officers.20 The Republican reconciliation scam is a giveaway that will harm workers, and Republicans are complicit. Drug Trafficking The Republican reconciliation package seeks to combat drug trafficking across our borders but fails to address the very things that fuel drug traffickers: guns and bulk cash. Firearms and bulk amounts of cash are consistently smuggled out of America and into Mexico. The outbound now of weapons and cash to fuel cartel violence is a real threat. Just recently, CBP officers in Del Rio seized nine weapons, 260 rounds of ammunition, 24 magazines, and weapons' components 19 Exclusion from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,Exec. Order No. 14251 (Mar. 27,2025), https://www.wWtehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/exclusions-from-federal-labor-management-relations- programs/. 20 Justin Doubleday,Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Is Ending Collective Bargaining at TSA and Seeking to Prevent Future Administrations from Granting Union Rights to TSOs,FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK(Mar.7,2025), https://federalnewsnetwork.com/urions/2025/03/dhs-moves-to-end-collective-bargaining-for-tsa-officers/. 6