WASHINGTON, D.C. – After voting to move forward a bill that fully funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the rest of the Fiscal Year, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement:

“Passing a bill that fully funds the Department of Homeland Security is critical,” Senator King said. “All anyone has to do is turn on the TV or pick up the paper to understand the severity of the threats facing our country today. That’s why DHS must have at its disposal a full arsenal of resources and tools to protect Americans. It’s our responsibility to keep border agents in Maine, FBI agents in New York, or TSA agents at airports across the country working at full capacity.”

Today, following an agreement by the Majority and Minority Leaders, the Senate voted to move forward with the motion to proceed to a bill that, at the conclusion of the agreed-upon amendment process, will fully fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the Fiscal Year. The bill is expected to pass the Senate on a strong bipartisan basis tomorrow but will still require passage in the House of Representatives.

Pursuant to an agreement between the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid, once that “clean” – meaning absent of any extraneous provisions related to the President’s executive order – DHS bill is headed to the President’s desk, the Senate will vote to move to debate of S.534, a bill to prohibit funds from being used to carry out the President’s November 2014 executive actions, which will involve a larger debate on immigration reform.

Senator King has been a proponent of immigration reform, voting last year in favor of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate by a wide margin but which died in the House. He continues to call for a fair and open process to consider and amend S.534. The process will influence Senator King’s decision of whether or not to support final passage of that bill.

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