A coalition of 21 U.S. Senators today strongly urged U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to reconsider proposed budget cuts to airport, seaport and mass transit security programs in order to fund President Trump’s request for more than $4 billion to construct a wall along America’s southern border.
Original Title
Letter to Secretary Kelly on FY18 DHS Budget Request 04.06.17
A coalition of 21 U.S. Senators today strongly urged U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to reconsider proposed budget cuts to airport, seaport and mass transit security programs in order to fund President Trump’s request for more than $4 billion to construct a wall along America’s southern border.
A coalition of 21 U.S. Senators today strongly urged U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to reconsider proposed budget cuts to airport, seaport and mass transit security programs in order to fund President Trump’s request for more than $4 billion to construct a wall along America’s southern border.
Wnited States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510,
April 6, 2017
The Honorable John Kelly
Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Secretary Kelly:
President Trump’s FY18 Budget Blueprint and FY17 Supplemental Appropriations request raise
serious concerns regarding the prioritization of campaign promises over proven national security
programs. In particular, we are concerned that in furtherance of President Trump's quest to build
a conerete wall along our Southern border, his budget proposes drastic cuts for key agencies
within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that are tasked with protecting our borders
against current threats, including programs at the Transporation Security Administration (TSA)
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency which could include mass transit, aviation and
port security grants.
The TSA plays a critical role in securing our nation’s aviation and ground transportation
networks. The Administration proposes to raise fees on the flying public to partially counteract
the proposed cuts, and at the same time the budget would eliminate or severely cut important and
effective programs within TSA. Among those, the budget proposes eliminating grants to critical
state and local law enforcement partners for assistance in patrolling airports. It also guts TSA’s
Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (or VIPR) teams. Following the tragie terrorist
attack last year at Brussels Airport in a non-secure “soft” target area, Congress overwhelmingly
passed legislation to boost funding for VIPR teams, including bomb-sniffing dog teams, to
address the continuing threat of terrorist attacks on our airports, train stations and bus terminals.
Just last month, both the United States and the United Kingdom put in place restrictions on
multiple foreign air carriers that prohibit carrying on larger electronic devices such as tablets or
laptop computers based on intelligence that terrorists may use those larger devices to house hard-
to-detect bombs. These kinds of security threats to our aviation system clearly continue, yet the
Administration proposes to divert fumding and resources from effective and proven security
programs in order to fill a campaign promise to build a concrete wall that sparked questions
about its cost-effectiveness in addressing illegal immigration, from both Democrats and
Republicans alike.
Between fiscal years 2017 and 2018, the President has requested $4.1 billion for the construction
ofa physical wall along the Southern border, a small fraction of the at least $22 billion that DHS
estimates the American taxpayer, not Mexico, will have to pay in total for the project.' We have
"Hesso, Ted. "MeCaskill Concemed Ente Border Wall Could Cost $67 Bilion* Polio Pro, Np 28 Mar. 2017. Web.been supportive of increased border security when considered as part of comprehensive
immigration reform efforts, but as national security experts have noted, a physical barrier alone
simply will not work.
‘No matter how much we invest in border security, if we fail to fix our visa system to make legal
entry more attractive than illegal entry, address employment verification, improve security
processes, create pathways for STEM graduates, and offer a path to citizenship for DREAMers
and hard-working families who pay taxes, then we will continue to face enormous challenges
with our immigration system and waste vital opportunities to grow our economy.
We are concerned that the President's budget request fails to address our real immigration
challenges and trades proven programs ~ those that are currently protecting Americans from
actual threats to our national security — for the purpose of aggressively implementing a campaign
promise. We request that you take these immigration and national security concerns under
consideration and modify the President's Fiscal Year 2018 Budget accordingly.
Sincerely,
Mark R. Warner Thomas R. Carper j
United States Senator United States Senator
Jax [e,
Tim Kaine ris Van Hollen
United States Senator United States Senator
Al Franken. Amy char
United States Senator Unit fates Senator
Cory A. Booker
Uffted States Senator United States Senatorfold Ubmutep —_ Dap Nuh
Richard Blumenthal Richard J. Durbin
bho States Senator United States Senator
Catherine Cortez Masto Edward J. Markey : j ¢
United States Senator United States Senator
Maria Cantwell Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator United States Senator
anne Feinstein
United States Senator
Robert P. Casey, Jr. ain
United States Senator
mG
Patty Murray Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator United States Senator
‘Benjamin L. Cardin
United States Senator
cc: Mick Mulvaney, Director, Office of Management and Budget