Blumenthal Statement on Spending Package

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement after voting to avert a government shutdown by passing legislation separating five bipartisan, full year appropriations bills from a short-term, two-week continuing resolution to fund the Department of Homeland Security:

“This deal gives us an opportunity to impose real restraints on the Department of Homeland Security – lasting, enduring legislative reform to rein in an agency that is absolutely out of control. It also funds critical health, transportation, housing, and defense programs, denying Republicans the chance to make this issue about a government shutdown – about failing to pay military families or making air passengers safe.”

“I share the anger and outrage I have heard from my constituents, which is why I am demanding action like body cameras on, masks off; identification; accountability for lawless officers; and judicial warrants. We cannot allow this pseudo paramilitary force to continue acting with impunity, and if these demands are not met, I will not vote for another penny of funding for DHS.”

On Tuesday, Blumenthal and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will hold a bicameral public forum to receive testimony on the violent tactics and disproportionate use of force by agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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