Democrat Cheri Bustos says Congressional leaders need to stop playing political games with the country’s national security. The 17th District Congresswoman says the House and Senate are running up against a Friday deadline to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A measure funding the agency failed after members of the House attached amendments related to President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration. Bustos says she’s in favor of a clean bill.
“Let’s not attach political mechanisms to that, that are going to cause some people to break off. We’ve got to make sure that we fund it, but that we fund it adequately, and that people who are employed under the Department of Homeland Security are paid for the work that they do.”
Bustos says 30-thousand DHS employees would be furloughed if the department is not funded. Thousands of others like TSA security screeners and Border Patrol agents would be forced to work without pay.
The East Moline Democrat was in Peoria Monday to visit the General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans in Peoria. She says she recently introduced legislation requiring the federal government to buy American flags made in the U.S. with American-made products.
Bustos says the federal government spent about four million dollars on flags made in China in 2013.
“In the scheme of things, four-million dollars is not huge, but it’s the symbolism of the American flag. So, it’s distasteful, I think, to any American. But particularly to veterans.”
Bustos says the idea for the legislation came from discussions with veterans around her district. She says she also continues working on ways to reduce the claims backlog through the Department of Veterans Affairs.