{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2026-02-26-pt1-PgS713", "2026-02-26", 119, 2, null, null, "GOVERNMENT FUNDING", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S713", "S714", "[{\"name\": \"James Lankford\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Mazie K. Hirono\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "172 Cong. Rec. S713", "Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S713-S714]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                           GOVERNMENT FUNDING\n\n  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, it is the end of February, but it sure\nfeels like the beginning because it feels like Groundhog Day. We are in\nyet another partial government shutdown. We are in it right now.\n  What is interesting is we just had our last vote of the week, and\nthis is still not resolved, and Members are all heading back home as if\neverything is normal, but it is not. Next week, we will have people who\nwork for the Department of Homeland Security not get a paycheck because\nit is not funded because this body has not resolved this.\n  Now, I understand my Democratic colleagues want to defund ICE. I get\nthat. I hear from them over and over again: Let's defund ICE. And their\nway of defunding ICE is to be able to cut off funding to this\nparticular part of our Federal budget.\n  But I think some of my colleagues have lost track of what this means\nto be able to cut off DHS funding. It is not just cutting off ICE. In\nfact, ICE is a very small portion of the Department of Homeland\nSecurity. There are about 250,000 total employees across all entities\nin the Department of Homeland Security. ICE has 21,000 of that 250,000-\nplus. It is a very small group. But they are determined they are going\nto defund ICE.\n  What they are actually defunding is not just ICE. They have also\ndefunded U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. They have defunded\nthe U.S. Coast Guard. They have defunded Customs and Border\nProtection--those are all the folks that actually handle customs duties\nand produce coming across our border. They defunded the Cybersecurity &\nInfrastructure Agency. They defunded FEMA, the Federal Emergency\nManagement Agency. They defunded the Federal law enforcement training\ncenters. They have defunded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement--\nthat is ICE, what they were targeting. They have also defunded the\nSecret Service. TSA--those folks that a lot of Members are going to go\ncheck in with to get on a flight right now--they are not getting a\npaycheck next week, although they are still working this week. They\ndefunded the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.\n  Listen, this is a big deal. We just had a shutdown of 43 days--the\nlongest in American history. Those TSA agents lost two paychecks during\nthat time period. There are a lot of Americans who can't miss one and\nmake it; they missed two.\n  The TSA agent I walked past a couple of weeks ago caught me as I came\nthrough and said: I feel like my paycheck is bipolar--I never know\nwhether it is going to be there or not.\n  All I could say to them was: I am so sorry. We are trying to get this\nopen.\n  But my Democratic colleagues are so mad at ICE and so determined that\nthey don't want enforcement across the country that TSA agents in my\nState are not getting a paycheck.\n  What in the world do the TSA agents in my State have to do with the\nrage against ICE? What in the world do the Coast Guard folks have to do\nwith the rage against ICE? What in the world do the FEMA folks that are\nhandling emergencies, in preparation for spring storms, and dealing\nwith wildfires across the country--what do they have to do with their\nrage against ICE?\n  If we want to have an argument about ICE, let's have it, but why are\nwe cutting off the paychecks of folks that work for FEMA because\nsomebody is mad at ICE? That makes no sense to me, and it certainly\ndoesn't make sense to those folks at the airport in my State who work\nevery single day, who show up way earlier than most Americans actually\nwake up and get up. They are already at their spot early that morning\ntaking care of passengers and making sure everybody is safe. They have\nnothing to do with ICE--except now they are not getting a paycheck\nbecause somebody is mad.\n  We should be able to resolve our differences in this body and not\nhave other people not get a paycheck because of that. I have worked\nliterally for years across the aisle and in conversation in this body\nto be able to come up with a very simple, straightforward bill that\nsays: When we get to a moment that we haven't resolved everything in\nfunding, when we get to that moment, instead of having the government\nshut down, everyone would still be paid. We would go to what is called\na continuing resolution automatically. Everyone would still get paid.\nThe status quo would continue except one thing: We would not leave. We\nwould be here, the House and the Senate, 7 days a week. We would have\nto be in session and keep working until we solve the problem.\n  Put the pressure on us. Rather than cutting off the paycheck of\nsomebody who has no ability to be able to make the decision to solve\nthis, why don't you put the pressure on us, where it should be, to be\nable to stay here until it is resolved?\n  Now, I want to see my family like everybody else does. There are\nfolks that have all kinds of issues that are happening this weekend.\nSome are going on codels. Some are heading overseas. Some are going\nhome. Some have elections coming up. There are lots of things that are\nhappening this weekend, and I totally understand everyone wanting to be\nable to get to those spots, but we have unfinished business. We should\nbe here until it is done, and we should hold harmless the folks in\nOklahoma airports who are just getting up every day and going to work\nto protect our country and protect travelers. We have to figure this\nout.\n\n  So we have two issues. One is, let's solve the immediate one right\nnow. Let's actually get the government back open, and let's actually\nget people paid.\n  My Democratic colleagues have demanded that we have body-worn cameras\non ICE agents. We as Republicans have said: We agree.\n  In fact, the bill that you are blocking literally has $20 million and\na requirement to have body-worn cameras for law enforcement in the bill\nthat you are blocking. We agree. Body-worn cameras are helpful for law\nenforcement and for the public to tell the complete story of what\nactually happened.\n  My Democratic colleagues have demanded that we get deescalation\ntraining for Federal officers. We as Republicans have said: Yes, we\nagree with that as well.\n  In fact, the bill that you are blocking, that you refuse to even take\nup, actually includes money for deescalation training in it. And there\nis not some trick in it; it is the actual issue everyone seems to be\naddressing right now.\n  This is about the drama of the moment and trying to be able to prove\nthat you oppose Trump. OK. We get it. You don't like President Trump.\nBut what I don't get is, why are the folks that work for the Federal\nEmergency Management Agency, why are the folks that work at TSA, why\nare the Coast Guard members, why are the folks that handle weapons of\nmass destruction, why are the folks that handle cyber security for our\nNation--why are we not paying them while we are having this political\nfight?\n  This may be good political drama, but for the quarter-million Federal\nemployees that are getting up and going to work without a paycheck this\nweek, it is not drama; it is a problem that we need to solve.\n  So let's finish up these negotiations, and let's actually pass a bill\nthat long term says we will never have another one of these.\n  I long for the day when I sit with my grandchildren one day and they\nsay ``Tell me about the time that the government used to shut down when\nCongress had arguments,'' and I would say ``Yes, there was a time that\nused to happen, but we fixed that, so that doesn't happen anymore.''\n  Let's solve this. We are supposed to be the adults in the room to be\nable to\n\n[[Page S714]]\n\nresolve our differences. Let's figure this out for the sake of all\nthose folks that are working every day to protect our Nation.\n  Mr. President, I yield the floor.\n  I suggest the absence of a quorum.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.\n  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.\n  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for\nthe quorum call be rescinded.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2026-02-26-pt1-PgS713"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0413689306005836, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}