Congressman Carson works to prevent a Homeland Security Shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC – With less than 48 hours left until a partial government shutdown, today, Congressman André Carson (IN-07) is continuing to urge Congressional Leaders to fund the Department of Homeland Security before tomorrow night's deadline. A shutdown would furlough or deny pay to 1,005 law enforcement officials, disaster response officials, and many other DHS personnel in Indiana alone.

Carson has joined every House Democrat in co-sponsoring a clean DHS funding bill; this bill would avert a shutdown and provide long-term funding to the Department of Homeland Security.

"The world is too dangerous and our national security is too important for these irresponsible reckless games," said Carson. "The House should move forward immediately with a vote on a clean funding bill that would provide certainty and stability to the frontline DHS personnel who are critical in protecting our nation."

Without action in the next two days, the bulk of DHS's management and support of the homeland security infrastructure that was built following the 9/11 terrorist attacks would be shutdown. Law enforcement officials, border patrol agents, disaster response officials, counterterrorism experts and other DHS personnel who help keep our nation safe would either be furloughed or required to work without pay.

Consequences of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security include:

• Over 200,000 employees will be declared essential and forced to work without pay. Over 30,000 will be furloughed, including 22% of the FEMA workforce.
• Vast majority of FY 2015 on hold until a long-term funding bill passes. This includes Emergency Management Performance Grants, State Homeland Security Grants, Urban Area Security Imitative Grants, and Fire Grants, which typically bring millions of dollars to Indiana every year. In a prolonged shutdown, this could cost jobs reliant on grants.
• Many training programs with local law enforcement and emergency management officials will be put on hold.
• The e-Verify system, which allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of job candidates, would not be operational.