The three-day Government Shutdown that began last Friday and ended yesterday pinned more than just issues against each other, it also created dissent amongst Brooklyn’s Federal Lawmakers.
On Monday, the Senate voted 81-18 to move forward on a bill to fund the government through Feb. 8 after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY/Brooklyn) agreed to end the shutdown and continue to negotiate on immigration and spending matters.
Congressman Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) was quick to point the finger at Senate Democrats for the shutdown, claiming that they planned the entire situation in order to bring reform to the U.S. immigration system.
“Now that Senate Democrats have agreed to end their shutdown, we’re in the same place we were last week: negotiating a long-term funding bill and reform to our broken immigration system. It’s truly a shame that instead of focusing on problem solving, some members chose to create chaos that hurt our brave military members, put funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program further in limbo, and created uncertainty for federal workers across the nation,” said Donovan.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump (R) met with Congress to move negotiations forward on how to address the future of undocumented immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
According to initial reports, members of both parties and the White House said they agreed that the four immigration issues to be addressed initially include DACA, border security, changes to family based migration, also known as chain migration, and an end to the visa lottery system.
Trump has stated that he is looking for a legislative solution to keep undocumented immigrants in the country, but only if it comes with the security of a wall between the United States and Mexico.
Donovan’s position on DACA has remained the same since negotiations began–he wants to fix DACA but border security has to be included in the final deal.
“Politicians have kicked the can down the road on immigration for a decade, and Congressman Donovan believes it’s time for the political courage to finally tackle this issue. Importantly, that includes border security, because reform is pointless if we don’t stop illegal entries,” added Donovan spokesperson Alexia Sikora.
However, Donovan’s counterparts were just as quick to throw blame on the Republicans, who currently control both the House and the Senate. Schumer claimed the party’s lack of leadership and ability to compromise led to the crisis.
“The reason the Republican majority had such difficulty finding consensus is that they could never get a firm grip on what the president of their party wanted to do. These days, you never know who to deal with when it comes to the Republicans. The Republican leaders told me to work out a deal with the White House, the White House said to work it out with Republicans leaders on the Hill,” said Schumer.
Schumer went on to note that he did meet with Trump before the shutdown and offered to fund border security in favor of DACA but was “turned away.”
Schumer said that as part of the passage of a bipartisan funding bill, both political parties will continue to negotiate a deal for immigration reform ahead of the Feb. 8 funding deadline.
“We will vote today to reopen the government to continue negotiating a global agreement, with the commitment that, if an agreement isn’t reached by February the 8th, the Senate will immediately proceed to the consideration of legislation dealing with DACA immediately after the expiration of the bill on February 8th. That process will be neutral and fair to all sides. We expect that a bipartisan bill on DACA will receive fair consideration and an up or down vote on the floor,” said Schumer.
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Queens, Lower Manhattan) echoed these sentiments, criticizing the Republicans leadership skills in getting a funding bill passed.
“This is the fourth time that Congressional Republicans have temporarily extended the budget in this fiscal year. Lurching chaotically from crisis to crisis is no way to govern,” said Velazquez.
The outspoken critic of President Trump, went on to state that she voted against the bill in hopes that DREAMers will be included in the next round of negotiations.
“Instead, House Republicans should work in a bipartisan manner with Democrats on a bill funding the government for the longer term and that meets our national priorities. Not only does this three-week, stopgap bill fail to provide adequate funding for pressing issues like opioid addiction and community health centers, but it remains silent on the hundreds of thousands of young DREAMers. This bill is inadequate and I am voting no,” added Velazquez.
According to initial reports, if a broader deal is not reached by Feb. 8, the Senate would take up legislation to protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants who are losing legal protections, as long as the government remains open.
Trump gave Congress until March to find a solution to the almost 800,000 children and adults in the program.
