Larsen fights to fund FEMA, U.S. Coast Guard, TSA and hold ICE accountable

||| FROM THE OFFICE OF  U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN |||

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement after cosponsoring legislation to fully fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and every other agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Office of Secretary Kristi Noem: 

“Congress must ensure that FEMA, the Coast Guard and critical aviation security functions remain fully funded and operational while my Democratic colleagues and I fight for reforms to ICE and accountability for Secretary Noem. 

“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, ICE’s reckless enforcement agenda has brutalized communities in Northwest Washington and killed U.S. citizens. I will not vote to fund ICE unless DHS agents follow the same rules as every other law enforcement agency.” 

The legislation provides full-year funding for:  

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); 

• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); 

• U.S. Coast Guard; 

• Transportation Security Administration (TSA); 

• U.S. Secret Service; 

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC); Science & Technology Directorate (S&T); 

• Office of Inspector General (OIG); 

• Federal Protective Service and a variety of other programs within the DHS funding bill that are not related to ICE or CBP. 

Rep. Larsen is the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and aviation security and safety. 

The bill excludes ICE and CBP from DHS’s transfer authority, meaning funds cannot be transferred to those agencies. Additionally, it would prohibit Secretary Noem from using two luxury private jets she procured when the government was shut down in October of last year, at a cost of nearly $200 million to the taxpayer, reserving them for use by the Coast Guard. Full text of the bill can be found here. 

Rep. Larsen supports impeaching Secretary Noem and negotiating a full-year funding bill for ICE and CBP that creates accountability and oversight of immigration enforcement operations and detention facilities.