WASHINGTON, Miss– Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson says the ongoing debate over the budget for the Department of Homeland Security is putting the pressure on local first responders.
“The ability for state and local governments across this country to maintain core emergency preparedness has been severely undermined by the unpredictability of DHS funding,” says Rep. Thompson in a statement.
Thompson says until a fully-funded budget is cleared, no new homeland security grants or emergency management performance grants can be funded.
“The first responders in our districts rely on these grants to support critical equipment, training, and security technologies for emergency management, law enforcement, and first responders,” says Rep. Thompson.
Representative Thompson says it is time for the “DHS funding games” to end:
“I urge my colleagues to return to regular order, pass a clean bill, and stop trying to run out the clock on this game of chicken with the President.”
