MAJOR CLASH: Markwayne Mullin And Rosa DeLauro Get Into Shocking Shouting Match

[0:00] I do appreciate, Mr. Secretary, your concern about the lost children, but I also want to [0:07] remind people that let's not forget what was a Trump administration policy initiated by Stephen [0:15] Miller, which was to let us separate children from their families at the border because this [0:24] would be a way to curtail or to stop immigration, separating children from their families, how to [0:34] hurt them the most. I asked and had a phone conversation with Secretary Azar at the time. [0:40] I know I was in my living room with my two-year-old grandson on my lap trying to have this conversation, [0:48] and I asked him if there was a way in which he had a list of how you could reunite children with [0:58] their families, and he assured me that we did. You know, when you take your clothes to the cleaners, [1:04] they give you a tag and you then go back and you retrieve your clothes. When you get luggage, [1:10] you go and your luggage is returned. I wish the Biden administration would have done that. [1:15] Let me just say this to you, sir. Again, it is my time. 3,900 children were separated from their [1:21] family. 450,000 kids were lost. Mr. Secretary, Mr. Secretary, do not interrupt. Don't you point [1:28] your finger at me. I will point my finger at you. Don't you be a hypocrite then. You should be as [1:33] upset about the 450,000 kids that were lost. He didn't say a word about it. For four years, [1:38] you never said a word. Mr. Secretary. Could you put him in his place? You should be put in your place. [1:43] Mr. Secretary, if you would like four minutes for a closing statement when everybody's done, [1:49] I'll give you that. But while members are on their eight minutes, I need them to have their eight [1:53] minutes. I started my comments. I appreciate that. My issue is that they say this for sound bites, [1:58] and I'm not going to let them say something like that. What did you do just recently for sound bites? [2:02] I sympathize with the 400. We are going to have something resembling order here. The time is the [2:09] ranking members. If you would like to respond later on, there are methods to do that. But it's [2:14] not a who can talk louder into the mic. It's not. So you are recognized. Thank you very much. I will [2:20] not let her sit there and lie and accuse something this ridiculous. This is the legislative branch, [2:24] and it's my hearing. And so I'm going to try to some extent to control it moderately. And do not [2:30] accuse me of lying. Do not. And I do not. I appreciate and I said to you at the outset, [2:40] there's concern for children across the board. We care deeply about what's happening to children. [2:47] And I went to the border and I watched children in those fenced in places years ago and what was [2:54] happening to them. So I have a long history, Mr. Secretary, in this area. 3,900 kids were separated. [3:03] Secretary Azar told me he had a way to reunite them. Many of them were not reunited till today. [3:11] And I don't want you to answer this now. Please get back to us and tell us what you are doing with [3:16] regard to the settlement in terms of this issue, which is out there, which your department needs to [3:28] come close to. I'll make a statement to you again. But this is fact from the bill, Mr. Chairman. The [3:35] bill that the Republicans have proposed for funding the Department of Homeland Security cuts cyber security [3:41] budget by more than 250 million dollars. It cuts the TSA by nearly 350 million dollars. And the Trump [3:49] administration is openly advocating for privatizing TSA while trying to eliminate their collective [3:55] bargaining rights. We all know what happened earlier this year. TSA workers endured the longest [4:01] government shutdown in history. There was a lot of discussion and talk invoked about the long lines [4:07] and the use of leverage to force through a homeland security bill without any reforms to what were [4:14] critical ICE and CBP reforms that were necessary that the American people wanted and were clamoring for. [4:21] They didn't want to continue to see mass marauders on their streets with just harassing people. [4:31] Congress eventually passed my legislation that paid TSA workers, funded FEMA, CISA, [4:39] Secret Service and the Coast Guard. And today, and it took you 79 days on the Republican side to make that [4:47] decision to pay these people instead of just talking about paying this. The administration continues to [4:54] attempt to walk away from the collective bargaining agreement with TSA workers, something that the federal [5:00] courts have now twice said is illegal. Indeed, your testimony frames the attempt to force over 200 [5:10] smaller airports in this country into a new security structure as a setting and quote, [5:17] the TSA, this is in the testimony, the TSA is on the path to privatization. My question on this issue [5:26] is, given all that the Transportation Security Office did for us during a Republican shutdown, how can it [5:33] be that the department's position is that TSA workers should not be granted the same basic labor [5:40] protections as federal enforcement officers? How can it be that your priority is to have them work for [5:47] the lowest bidder where the wages and the benefits of these workers will unquestionably be lower? [5:53] Well, actually, it was the Democrats that voted every time to shut them down. Republicans [5:59] voted every time to open them up. We didn't shut them down. You shut them down. Answer my question. [6:04] I did. What are you doing? Why are you moving? [6:08] And I answered your question. You were the one that shut them down. The Democrats shut down. How many [6:11] times did you vote to shut them down? You know, these people come to us to get funding for their, [6:17] for the work that they do. And we understand the work that they don't do. [6:19] I'm actually factually correct. You voted to shut them down. Republicans voted to open them [6:25] over and over and over again. Your vote clearly stated that you voted to shut us down. And it [6:30] wasn't until it became popular. And then by the way, ICE agents came there and helped bring the lines [6:35] down. The same people that you also kept shut down for a hundred days. Mr. Secretary. [6:38] I'm answering the question. No, you didn't. I thought you said you answered it. [6:41] The floor is hers. My dear. Actually, I gave it to her. You know, there is a chairman of a committee. [6:47] That's me. I gave it back to her. She's got it. This tells you something about who these folks are. [6:53] And everybody on this panel. You have another question, Madam Ranking Mayor. Well, yeah, no, [6:55] I do. But I didn't get an answer to a question. So the record will so reflect. Please ask your next question. [7:00] Okay. And I will. This has to do with FEMA. Simple question. And I want to start where I left off with [7:07] Secretary Noem last year. FEMA. Simple. Yes or no. Do you support eliminating FEMA? [7:13] Do you support eliminating FEMA? There's portions of FEMA. Do you support eliminating FEMA? There's no [7:21] yes or no question on that. There's portions that need to go back to the state. Do you support eliminating FEMA? [7:29] The record will reflect the response. The record will reflect the response. Is there another question? [7:35] Yeah. Because let me just say you say in April of 2025, the Trump administration prematurely, [7:42] I'm glad we got that answer because the poor gentleman who came before, may have been with [7:47] you, Mr. Chairman, that came before our committee. And I asked him this question. And he said, because [7:53] Secretary Noem said, yes, she and the president wanted to eliminate FEMA. The gentleman said that [7:59] he said it should be reformed. And the next day he was fired. Let it show that the secretary believes [8:06] that we should shut FEMA down. April 2025, the administration. I never said that. [8:11] The administration prematurely, unlawfully ended FEMA's BRIC program. He intentionally halted roughly [8:19] 2,000 active infrastructure and disaster mitigation projects across the country, including one in [8:26] downtown New Haven, Connecticut. A coalition of 22 states in DC sued FEMA. A federal judge ruled in favor of [8:35] the states in December mandated that FEMA restore the over 3.6 billion dollars and canceled funding. At the [8:43] beginning of March, the judge had to order FEMA to comply with that ruling. Three months ago, the day after [8:50] you took over as secretary, FEMA formally announced a quote, new and improved BRIC program. Yet, almost all of these [9:00] communities are still waiting for their BRIC funding to be restored. Tell me, Mr. Secretary, when can [9:10] communities with halted projects expect to receive their BRIC funding? We actually restarted that when [9:17] our first came in and we did 24 or 25 of them. So 24 of the 25 of the 2000. Let me clarify that. So, [9:25] please, 2024 and 2025, they sent out the notice of notifications that everybody can now submit and [9:33] those projects that were already submitted for those times period will be evaluated. How many projects are [9:36] there? We can get you the details. Please, there were 2,000 that we started with. The secretary also [9:41] provided direction for 2026 to get the NOFOs out on that and that'll come out sometime in September. [9:47] The secretary has done more to get that. I don't, I do not need your, you do not need to. I just want to make sure [9:53] you're clear. Please, spare us. You know, just give me the facts. Give me the numbers. Let me just [9:59] conclude, Mr. Chairman. And thank you. I would like to work in an open and transparent way because that [10:08] BRIC funding for New Haven, Connecticut, which I probably will not get because I'm in a blue state, [10:14] that the BRIC funding for New Haven, Connecticut is important, which is why we support the programs, [10:20] bipartisan support for the BRIC program. So please, let's get the NOFOs out as quickly as possible [10:26] and get the money to the communities that need them. My final comment to you is I'd just like to [10:31] go back a second. We need to go back to the issue of deaths in custody. It doesn't do anyone good to [10:38] deflect, talk about what's happening in a criminal system in Illinois or in Oklahoma. What we need, [10:45] what we need, because 54 deaths are 54. And what is civil detention, we need a plan to address the fact [10:56] that 54 people in your department has had, they were in civil detention, it's not criminal detention, [11:04] are dead. They should not be. We need to hear from you. I don't need an answer. Now there is no time. I've [11:10] taken an enormous amount of time. Get us a policy, a plan in a timely fashion that says, how are we [11:16] going to deal with these issues? I yield back and I thank you, Mr. Thank you. Thank you to the ranking [11:22] members.