Congressman Gabe Evans voted on March 26 for two pieces of legislation aimed at fully funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and supporting employees working in homeland security. The votes come as the partial government shutdown has reached its forty-first day, making it the longest such shutdown in American history.
The two measures, H.Res 1128 and H.R. 8029, seek to provide pay for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and other critical DHS agencies. Evans said these efforts are part of a broader Republican commitment to ensure that essential services remain operational during ongoing budget disputes.
“In just six months, Democrats have shut down our government, not once, but twice — claiming that closing the Department of Homeland Security makes our country safer. As a cop and a soldier for a combined 22 years — their claims couldn’t be further from the truth. This shutdown is yet another attempt by the Left to push their radical defund-the-police agenda, and their repeated actions have made it perfectly clear: they don’t care who gets hurt in the process. I’m proud to vote to fund DHS, pay our hardworking Americans, and to keep our country safe,” Congressman Gabe Evans said.
Testimony from TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil during a recent hearing highlighted some effects of the ongoing shutdown: airport wait times are at record highs due to increased call-out rates among staff—up by 40-50 percent—and more than 480 TSA employees have left their jobs since the shutdown began.
Republicans have now voted three times in favor of funding DHS this year with previous passage of H.R. 7147 and H.R. 7744 also aiming at ending disruptions caused by lapses in federal funding.
