Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says it’s time to reach a bipartisan consensus and fund TSA.
Travelers are waiting in long lines, and agents are facing another week without a paycheck.
Democrats and Republicans want to fund TSA and other agencies, but the issue is funding ICE.
“There is no reason that TSA employees and the traveling public should be caught up in this,” Ossoff said Thursday.
In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Channel 2’s Richard Elliot, Ossoff again called for a compromise to fund TSA now so agents can get paid and security lines like the ones being seen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport can go back to normal.
Democrats four times in the last three weeks have tried to fund TSA. It’s been blocked every time by Republicans,” the senator said.
That’s because every Democratic plan does not include funding ICE. They have serious concerns over the agency’s actions and want them to start wearing body cameras, unmask and force them to use judicial warrants before going into people’s homes.
Republicans want Congress to fund all of the Department of Homeland Security, not just some of it.
“TSA agents who are already under tremendous strain are put under even more strain,’ said Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga.
Republican Congressman Buddy Carter blames Democrats for the partial shutdown.
He says TSA needs funding because of concerns over potential security threats.
“This is serious, but not only for that, but also because we are in a time of conflict and the safety of the American people is at stake here,” he said.
Carter and other Republicans agree they are open to some kind of compromise, and the Trump White House said it would look at the latest proposal from Senate Democrats.
“Let’s fund TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, these other agencies, while we continue to negotiate how we prevent abuses by ICE,” Ossoff said.
In Atlanta, 34% of TSA agents called out Wednesday.
There are reports that if this shutdown continues, some smaller U.S. airports may have to shut down.
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