WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, on Wednesday held a subcommittee hearing on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 funding request for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Murphy laid out his priorities for the DHS budget, including how the Department plans to address the flow of fentanyl into the United States, the expiration of Title 42, cybersecurity, and coastal resilience.

On stopping the flow of fentanyl into the United States, Murphy said: “As you know, there is a plague afoot in our nation, a plague of drug addiction and death, the likes of which this country has never witnessed before. There's no one answer, but this budget better do everything humanly possible to stop the import of deadly fentanyl into the United States. This is a red alert moment, and while DHS alone can't come close to solving this crisis, I plan on pushing to dramatically scale up every capability that you have, the Department has, to stop the flow of these poisons into our homeland. This topic is so important in fact that we're going to devote an entire hearing to drilling down on the parts of the budget that have helped interrupt the fentanyl trade, that's going to be May 3rd, so whatever we don't get to today, we'll get to then.”

Murphy added: “[W]e know there's likely going to be a surge of crossings once Title 42 expires. We've seen the President's announcement about new policy and processes to meet this moment, but we want to know what the post-Title 42 world looks like from a spending and appropriations perspective…”

Murphy highlighted the difficult job of the Secretary of Homeland Security: “Congress has just fallen down on the job and refused to update the immigration laws of this nation for 40 years as conditions at the border and the conditions of migration have radically changed. Every Secretary of Homeland Security, Republican and Democrat, has been charged with enforcing bad law, expired law, irrelevant law, and occasionally, Secretaries need to be creative in order to protect the nation, make sure that it lives up to its values despite Congress's failure.”

On coastal resilience, Murphy said: “Both the Ranking Member and I come from coastal states, and whether or not you think fighting climate change is job number one or not, our coasts are being battered, and we need help not just in the aftermath of a disaster.”

A full transcript of Murphy’s opening remarks can be found below:

“Good afternoon. I'm going to call this hearing of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security to order. Today, we welcome the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Mr. Secretary, on behalf of the Subcommittee, I would like to share our appreciation to you and the over 260,000 employees of the Department for their dedication to our nation's security and resiliency. We are very mindful of the wide ranging responsibilities and sacrifices that are necessary in order to uphold the responsibilities for your department.

“The purpose of today's hearing is to review the President's FY24 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security. As we start this effort, I'd like to share my intention to work with Ranking Member Britt and the rest of the members of the subcommittee to develop and pass a bipartisan bill that protects our nation, and I'm very glad that Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins, who is here, are committed to restoring regular order.

“In the past, it is honestly often been this subcommittee's budget that has caused the most heartburn when it comes to regular order, but I think it's time that we put this budget and all the rest before the Committee, allowed for amendments, and had a real debate about our nation's security. I think that's good for the country. That's good for the Senate.

“Second, let me just quickly tell you what I'm interested in hearing about today and talking to you about. As you know, there is a plague afoot in our nation, a plague of drug addiction and death, the likes of which this country has never witnessed before. There's no one answer, but this budget better do everything humanly possible to stop the import of deadly fentanyl into the United States. This is a red alert moment, and while DHS alone can't come close to solving this crisis, I plan on pushing to dramatically scale up every capability that you have, the Department has, to stop the flow of these poisons into our homeland. This topic is so important in fact that we're going to devote an entire hearing to drilling down on the parts of the budget that have helped interrupt the fentanyl trade, that's going to be May 3rd, so whatever we don't get to today, we'll get to then.

“I also want to hear about your plan for lifting the Title 42. People in this building often pretend that you have the legal ability to just keep denying entry to migrants indefinitely under Title 42. You don't. You'd be breaking the law if you kept applying Title 42 after the pandemic, but we know there's likely going to be a surge of crossings once Title 42 expires. We've seen the President's announcement about new policy and processes to meet this moment, but we want to know what the post-Title 42 world looks like from a spending and appropriations perspective.

“Mr. Secretary, I also want to hear about the state of our Disaster Response Fund, whether we have enough money and when we're going to need more. I'd like to hear about our cybersecurity efforts. They have grown exponentially, but I'm not always sure whether our extra capabilities actually match all of the extra spending that we've put in.

“And lastly, I'd like to hear about our efforts to build storm and climate resiliency. Both the Ranking Member and I come from coastal states, and whether or not you think fighting climate change is job number one or not, our coasts are being battered, and we need help not just in the aftermath of a disaster.

“Lastly, Mr. Secretary, let me just make a personal point. I think you are an exceptional leader. I don't agree with you 100% of the time, but I think you've been given an impossible task, perhaps the hardest job the federal government. You didn’t get drafted for this assignment, you volunteered for it because you're a patriot, because you believe in this country.

“Frankly, Mr. Secretary, I think the way that you were treated by the Judiciary Committee yesterday was shameful. There are some Senators here who think their job is to create confrontation so they can book cable news appearances, and frankly, the lack of self-awareness from individuals in the Senate who have stood on the sidelines as we have attempted to try to find bipartisan compromise is pretty stunning.

“Congress has just fallen down on the job and refused to update the immigration laws of this nation for 40 years as conditions at the border and the conditions of migration have radically changed. Every Secretary of Homeland Security, Republican and Democrat, has been charged with enforcing bad law, expired law, irrelevant law, and occasionally, Secretaries need to be creative in order to protect the nation, make sure that it lives up to its values despite Congress's failure.

“And so I hope, I trust that you will be treated better by this committee. Not because members of this subcommittee will agree with you or the administration, but because this subcommittee, year after year, despite our disagreements, finds a way to do our job and produce a bipartisan budget for DHS and the border, and I have confidence that we will do it again this year. With that, I'll turn it over to the Ranking Member Senator Britt for opening remarks.”