Mike Quigley

On Wednesday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) discussed the impact of a lapse in DHS funding impacting FEMA and said that the president “Seems to forget that much of the reason that we need FEMA is his total disregard for climate change and the extreme weather events that we’re experiencing.” He also stated that “ICE has been so dramatically funded, they won’t be hurting in a shutdown.”

Quigley said, [relevant remarks begin around 3:30] “When the president of the United States talks about, well, we’ve got to fund FEMA, and you have to be voting for this or you vote against FEMA, just a few months ago, he was talking about dismantling FEMA. Seems to forget that much of the reason that we need FEMA is his total disregard for climate change and the extreme weather events that we’re experiencing. So, the president’s hypocrisy is showing here. I don’t want to shut down any level of government.”

He continued, “The irony is, ICE has been so dramatically funded, they won’t be hurting in a shutdown. Their budget was tripled. And when they talk, again, about a lack of body cameras, they’ve got all the money in the world to buy what they need.”