The terrorist attack on a newspaper in Paris is a “wake up call” and should serve as a reminder Republicans should protect funding for vital Department of Homeland Security efforts as they consider ways to take on President Obama’s executive amnesty, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), tells reporters.
“The main reason we created the Department of Homeland Security was to protect us against terrorist attack, no matter how we feel about immigration we can’t allow that to in any way hamper Homeland Security’s main job to protect from terrorist attack,” King said Wednesday morning.
Republicans are expected to target Obama’s executive actions on immigration in upcoming legislation to fund DHS. Appropriations for the massive department run out in February.
“If they want to target immigration to retaliate against the president, that is fine,” King said. “But we have to make it clear at Homeland Security at a time when we saw this massive attack in Paris, that we can’t be cutting funding of programs which would protect Americans from a terrorist attack.”
The New York Republican argued that the GOP conference has to find a way to walk the fine line in that regard, especially in the wake of Wednesday’s attack in Paris by Islamic extremists, which killed 12.
“I have strong beliefs that too many people in both parties don’t realize how vital Homeland Security is and how real the threat is to this country,” he said. “To me it’s a hell of a juxtaposition to say we’re not going to fund Homeland Security and people are being massacred in Paris because of a terrorist attack,” King added. “That could easily be Times Square, or Chicago, or Boston, or Los Angeles, or Texas, or Mississippi.”
House Republicans are reportedly planning to bring up a DHS funding bill with prohibitions on the president’s executive actions on immigration next week.
House Speaker John Boehner addressed King’s concern Wednesday morning, saying that the Paris attacks are a reminder of the need to be “vigilant” but that the GOP can take President Obama to task for his actions without harming national security.
“There are terrorists around the world who are intent on killing Americans and other freedom loving individuals around the country,” Boehner said. “I believe that the president’s executive actions with regard to immigration are outside the Constitution and outside of this Congress and I believe that we can deal with that issue in the Department of Homeland Security bill without jeopardizing the security of this country.”
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