The partial government shutdown is reaching far beyond long lines at airport security and flight cancellations, top Homeland Security officials told a House committee Wednesday.
The protracted partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security means new Transportation and Security Administration workers won’t be trained in time to accommodate the surge of fans traveling throughout the country for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, disaster relief funds are dwindling, and some cybersecurity intelligence isn’t being properly shared, the officials told the House Homeland Security Committee.
“We are anticipating a significant influx in passenger volume as fans travel through airports to see the games,” said Ha Nguyen McNeill, a senior official acting as TSA administrator. “Even if TSA were to hire new officers upon conclusion of the DHS shutdown, those officers would not be able to work on the checkpoint until well after the World Cup has concluded.”
Officials from the Coast Guard, the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified about the harsh economic consequences befalling their employees going unpaid. Many are missing rent payments, can’t support their families and are accumulating expenses that won’t be reimbursed.
The hearing was held as the partial government shutdown affecting DHS — though not ICE and Customs and Border Protection — hit its 40th day.
The witnesses said the workers’ lives are worsened by the fact that it is the third shutdown in less than a year.
Victoria Barton, FEMA’s Office of External Affairs associate administrator, said FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which helps pay for disaster response and recovery, is rapidly depleting. If the shutdown continues and the fund is depleted, FEMA will be unable to fund many disaster recovery efforts, Barton said.
“This is not just rhetoric. These impacts are having dire rippling effects for thousands of Americans and communities across the United States waiting for assistance,” she said.
Already, FEMA training courses for disaster preparedness and anti-terrorism preparedness have been postponed, she said. Some 40,000 people, many local officials and first responders, are affected by the lack of the courses, she said.
Nicholas Andersen, acting and deputy director of DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said about 60% of its workforce is furloughed or unable to work.
Andersen said that while the agency is continuing to focus on cyberthreats, what has been scaled back or paused is the work to reduce systemic risk over time, make proactive assessments, coordinate planning, engage partners and strategic initiatives.
“The result is simple: risk is accumulating across the system,” he said.
The Coast Guard has not had enough funding to operate and pay its workers for 85 of the past 176 days, said Adm. Thomas Allen, Coast Guard vice commandant. The Coast Guard, part of the U.S. military, has ceased many preparations for the FIFA World Cup and can’t pay over 5,000 utility accounts, “putting us in imminent danger of widespread shutdowns to critical infrastructure,” Allen said.
The agency has halted issuance of more than 16,000 Merchant Marine credentials and has a backlog that grows by 300 a day, he said. Merchant Marines operate U.S.-certified commercial ships.
“We know through experience, it will take us about two-and-a-half days to recover from every day we are in a shutdown,” Allen said.
Lawmakers blamed each other’s political party for the most recent shutdown, which has halted parts of DHS funding while the White House and Congress tangle over immigration and voting laws.
Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., told the committee he has asked Congress’ management office to withhold his paycheck until federal workers are paid, and he has asked his colleagues to follow suit.
“Do we really want to end this shutdown or not?” Correa said.
