On Thursday, U.S. Senator Katie Britt, the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee for the Senate Committee on Appropriations, voted against advancing the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Act to the full Senate.
During the Appropriations Committee’s markup on Thursday, Senator Britt voiced her concerns with the legislation.
“While I have no doubt this bill makes significant strides compared to President [Joe] Biden’s woeful budget request, there is still more that needs to be done to end – rather than manage – the ongoing border crisis,” said Sen. Britt. “On the heels of record encounters, I believe that we must complement the border security technology included in this bill with funding for a physical barrier system along our southern border. After several visits to the border, it is something that I personally believe is a critical tool to keep our homeland safe and secure.”
“Despite the Administration admitting it urgently needs an additional 6,000 beds, this bill does not increase the number of ICE detention beds,” Britt continued. “As we all know, there (is $752 million) flowing to different groups – DHS, nongovernmental organizations included to house migrants and move them around the country, and we need answers as to how, and why, and where this money is being spent.”
“As I watch the daily encounter numbers continue to increase day after day, yesterday – 6,883, I remain concerned that each of these issues serves as an incentive for people to continue to come here outside the legal pathways,” Britt added.
There were some parts of the bill that Britt liked.
“I am pleased that the bill funds an increase of more than 1,100 personnel across Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Britt. “It also includes significant funding for border security technology. “In addition, fentanyl is the leading cause of death, as you all know, for Americans ages 18 to 45. This bill appropriates over $800 million in new funding to combat the scourge of fentanyl that is poisoning our communities, schools, and families, and destroying too many American lives.”
“This bill is a positive step forward in a whole-of-government approach to target the cartels and transnational criminal organizations engaged in fentanyl trafficking, child exploitation, and human smuggling,” Britt said. “Additionally, this bill provides necessary funding to allow the Coast Guard to continue to invest in critical programs like the Offshore Patrol Cutter and to acquire a Commercially Available Icebreaker that will expand our near-term presence in the Arctic to counter the ambitions of Russia and China.”
“I remain thankful to Senator Chris Murphy for working with me to secure critical these priorities,” Britt said.
This is the first time since 2018 when Richard Shelby chaired the Appropriations Committee, that the U.S. Senate has advanced all 12 of the appropriations bills out of committee and to the Senate floor.
“There’s more to do: we still have to get these bills passed through the full Senate, and House, and signed into law—and that is our focus moving forward,” Sens. Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairwoman and vice-chairwoman of the committee, respectively, said in a joint statement. “However, what this committee has achieved over the last several weeks shows that it is possible for Congress to work together and work through real differences—to find common ground and produce serious, bipartisan bills that can be signed into law.”
“It is a testament to the tremendous leadership and determination of both of you that today marks the milestone of this committee marking up twelve out of twelve appropriations bills,” Britt said during her comments. “This is a significant accomplishment, and no doubt a win for the American people that the appropriations process is proceeding in this fashion. That would not have happened without the leadership of the two of you.”
The United States has been operating on a series of often hasty continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills since 2019. Doing budget deals with House Republicans could prove more difficult than moving them in the Senate.
Katie Britt was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022. Britt has made the border crisis and its role in the drug overdose and human smuggling crisis a key focus of her tenure in the Senate.
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