Ciscomani: “Stop Playing Politics with Our Homeland Security”

Representative Juan Ciscomani authored an op-ed about his successful Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act this week in southeastern Arizona papers.

In case you missed it…

Stop Playing Politics with Our Homeland Security
Arizona Daily Star
Representative Juan Ciscomani
March 25, 2026

Right now, thousands of the men and women responsible for keeping our country safe are going to work without pay.

TSA agents are showing up at airports before dawn. Border Patrol agents are standing watch along our southern border. Cybersecurity professionals are defending our critical infrastructure from threats we may never see. The U.S. Coast Guard is ensuring the safety and security of our nation’s waters. FEMA employees remain committed to responding to natural disasters across the nation. They all are doing their jobs — because they are committed to this country — while Washington fails to do its own.

As of today, Department of Homeland Security employees have missed a full paycheck. TSA agents calling out sick are surging to five times their normal rate, while more than 300 have already quit. Security lines are growing longer, operations are strained, and the pressure on those still serving is only increasing.

This is not just unacceptable — it is dangerous.

All while Americans pay the price. Travelers are getting up early, arriving at airports 3-4 hours ahead of their domestic flights for spring break travel, work trips, and leisure to stand in long lines and in many cases, miss their flight.

I have never voted for a government shutdown. Not once. Not with a Democrat in the White House or a Republican. It is a failure of leadership to allow politics to reach a point where hardworking Americans are forced to bear the consequences of Washington’s typical way of doing business. It’s time to push against Washington’s mode of operation. Policy debates have their time and place, but shutdowns do not punish politicians — they punish families, workers, and communities.

That is why I am leading the Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act.

This legislation will be on the House floor this week. It fully funds the Department of Homeland Security and ensures that the men and women who protect us — from TSA and Border Patrol to FEMA, the Secret Service and Coast Guard — receive the pay they have earned. It is a straightforward, commonsense solution: Keep our country secure and keep faith with those who serve.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Washington shares that urgency.

Arizona’s Senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, have not only failed to act while this crisis continues to escalate, but have actively voted against funding the Department for the fifth time since the shutdown began in February. This goes right along with their record they now hold for the longest shutdown in our nation’s history last fall. So it’s now a pattern for both of our US Senators. Federal employees across our state, including many in southern Arizona, are being asked to do more with less, to work longer hours, and to carry heavier burdens, all while wondering when their next paycheck will arrive. At the same time, their colleagues are leaving the workforce altogether, making an already difficult situation even worse by escalating our national security risk.

That is not leadership. That is neglect. We ask a lot of our homeland security personnel. We ask them to work long hours, often in high-stress and high-risk environments. We ask them to miss time with their families. And we ask them to stand ready at a moment’s notice to respond to threats against our nation.

The very least we can, and absolutely should, do is pay them what they are owed on time.

This should not be a partisan issue. Paying the people who protect our country should be the bare minimum expectation of a functioning government. It is about respect. It is about responsibility. And most importantly, it is about safety.

Every day this shutdown continues, the consequences grow more severe—for our workforce, for travelers, and for our national security.

We must fix this, and it should be done immediately. This week, my bill aims to do exactly that.

Our homeland defenders have not wavered in their duty to us. It is time for Washington to do the same.