Homeland Security funding should have been no-brainer

Given the intense partisanship that has come to define Congress since Barack Obama became president in 2009, we aren’t surprised that not even the safety of the American people is a strong enough reason for Republicans in the House of Representatives to act responsibly.

Case in point: Rather than pass a clean Homeland Security funding bill, the GOP majority added amendments that were guaranteed to become a point of contention in the Senate and the White House.

Thus, Democrats in the Senate remain solidly opposed to the provisions in the House measure that prohibit federal funds from being used to carry out President Obama’s executive orders on immigration.

This, in turn, has forced the new Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, to find a way of not only funding the Homeland Security agency, but of appeasing Republicans who believe Obama violated the Constitution with his executive orders.

On Monday, after four failed attempts to pass the House bill, McConnell, R-Kentucky, announced that he was removing the amendments from the Homeland Security funding measure.

Instead, he is proposing a separate bill that would deny the White House federal money to carry out the president’s goal of preventing the deportation of 4 million undocumented immigrants. The initiative would also allow the undocumented immigrants to work legally in this country.

While Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, appeared to support McConnell’s moves, there were rumblings from tea party Republicans who are of the opinion that the bill sent to the Senate should remain intact.

For their part, Democrats were all too happy to see factions within the Republican Party on Capitol Hill at loggerheads.

Little wonder that the American people are blaming both sides for bringing the country to the brink.

The Department of Homeland Security will run out of money on Friday, which means that 75 to 80 percent of the workforce will have to work without pay, while another 30,000 will be told to stay home.

Scary picture

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who painted a scary picture of the threats confronting this country during his appearance on the Sunday TV talk shows, had this to say during a departmental meeting:

“On behalf of the men and women up here and on this stage, we need a fully funded Department of Homeland Security.”

Johnson said Congress’ failure to pass the $39.7 billion budget for operations would undermine the agency’s ability “to stay one step ahead of groups” such as Islamic State and other terrorist organizations. Indeed, al-Shabaab, a Somali militant organization tied to al-Qaida, released a video threatening a terror attack on the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., the nation’s busiest shopping mall with 40 million visitors annually, or any other domestic commercial shopping center.

The safety of the American people here and abroad should never be used as a political football. It’s time for members of Congress to put the interest of the country first.