Correspondence - Item 27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conclusion Committee Republicans chose silence over addressing pressing concerns regarding unlawful deportations, the haphazard dismantling of DHS without legislative mandate, and the amateurish mismanagement of the Department. They have chosen to spend $69 billion in hard-earned taxpayer money to make more palatable deep cuts to Medicaid and to cut the taxes of billionaires. Regardless of what these funds in the reconciliation package could potentially do if put in the right hands, the Trump administration has proven itself incompetent and unreliable at best and an enemy of the Constitution and Congress's power of the purse at worst. Trump and Noem are unconstitutionally dismantling DHS—firing hundreds of civil servants, freezing grants, eliminating the watchdogs who protect Americans, and failing to respond to Hurricane Helene's devastation in North Carolina. There is no guarantee that the money included this package would be spent the way it is laid out in the Committee Print—or anywhere else in the Republican legislative agenda. Moreover, congressional Republicans have also proven themselves wholly incapable of any oversight of this administration. Even worse, the Homeland Security Committee has embarked on this massive spending plan without having first held a hearing with Secretary Noem and scrutinizing her priorities and the Department's needs. The Committee scheduled its first meeting with the Secretary for more than 2 weeks after marking up this funding package. The Republican reconciliation measure spends billions of taxpayer dollars and puts Americans' security at risk—all while cutting Medicaid to give tax cuts to billionaires and large corporations. Homeland Security Democrats strongly oppose this reckless Republican rip-off. Sincerely, Bennie G. Thompson Member of Congress Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security Eric Swalwell J. Luis Correa Member of Congress Member of Congress 8