TSA misses first paycheck after shutdown as Senate bickers over DHS funding

Debate over lifting the Immigration and Homeland Security shutdown spilled over to the Senate floor late Wednesday, with Transportation Security Administration workers among DHS workers who will not receive their full paychecks for the first time this week.

Airports have struggled in recent days due to lack of funding, with travelers forced to take time off from work in exchange for unpaid labor and suffering long lines at security checkpoints.

The rhetorical battle on the Senate floor resulted in no change and continued for several weeks until the DHS shutdown began on February 14th. Democrats are demanding new limits on immigration enforcement as a condition of funding the agency after two Americans were shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Republicans supported by President Donald Trump are not interested in making policy changes a condition of funding government agencies.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has proposed funding only the TSA, Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, but lawmakers are still debating funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the agencies responsible for immigration enforcement.

“As for FEMA, the Coast Guard, the TSA, the rest of DHS that does critical work to keep Americans safe, Democrats are here as well, and we are trying to fund those agencies,” said Murray, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Meanwhile, negotiations between ICE and Border Patrol continue.”

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security subcommittee, blocked Murray’s measure.

Britt then proposed funding DHS for two weeks, which Murray subsequently blocked.

“The people who sent us here expect more,” Britt said. “We would like to see an opportunity to continue funding the entire Department of Homeland Security as we discuss the best path forward.”

Democrats on Thursday proposed funding agencies within DHS, including TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA and CISA. Requiring funding for each agency individually would allow the party to campaign against Republicans who refuse to fund them, just as Republicans frame Democrats’ refusal to fund entire agencies in the same way.

Republicans are wary of accepting extensions for all DHS except Border Patrol and ICE, worried that funding for those agencies will never be completed due to their narrow Senate majority. The bill needs Democratic votes to pass on the floor. Democrats argue that Border Patrol and ICE are already funded by the Republican tax cuts and spending mega bill passed last year and will not accept further funding for these agencies unless immigration practices change.

If neither proposal moves forward, it is virtually certain that the agency’s employees will not receive their first full paycheck this week. According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a TSA employee in Washington is just under $50,000.

Dozens of senators took to the floor Wednesday to publicly debate the dueling bills.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., implored members to support the bill and urged continued negotiations.

“If you’re serious about reaching an agreement, I don’t understand why anyone would oppose it,” Thune said.

Murray said the Republican proposal “isn’t long enough to get us to this moment.”

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) also took to the floor and said, “We’re in a terrible conundrum here.”

However, the Senate failed to reach a resolution to continue funding DHS and paying employees.

Correction: Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A previous version incorrectly listed her title on the committee.