00:01Long lines snaked through major airports across the country on Wednesday as the TSA said more
00:07than 480 airport security officers have quit amid a standoff over funding for the Department
00:12of Homeland Security. Paying these dedicated employees for the work they are performing
00:17should never be a point of debate. Ha McNeil, the top official at the Transportation Security
00:23Administration, told the House committee that a partial government shutdown has forced 50,000
00:28airport security officers to work without pay, raising serious concerns about safety risks and
00:34taking a major toll on worker morale. Many in our workforce have missed bill payments,
00:39received eviction notices, had their cars repossessed and utilities shut off, lost their
00:44child care, defaulted on loans, damaged their credit line, and drained their retirement savings.
00:51Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to
00:57make ends meet, all while being expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform
01:01to protect the traveling public. Democrats in Congress have held up funding for the Department
01:07of Homeland Security while demanding a change in rules governing its immigration enforcement operations
01:12after agents in Minneapolis shot and killed U.S. citizens Rene Good and Alex Preddy.
01:18Republicans have rejected Democratic proposals to fund the TSA while negotiating over ICE reforms.
01:23ICE and other law enforcement personnel at DHS, meanwhile, are getting paid during the partial
01:29shutdown, as airports across the country grapple with delays.
01:33Multiple major airports are experiencing days where 40 to 50 percent of their staff are calling out
01:39because they simply cannot afford to report to work.
01:42On Tuesday, Homeland Security said more than 30 percent of TSA workers were absent at airports in New York,
01:48Baltimore, Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
01:52Meanwhile, hundreds of U.S. immigration agents and Homeland Security Investigations officers
01:57have been sent to 14 U.S. airports to aid security screening,
02:02including at some airports where wait times have topped three or four hours.
02:06Mmm Bolsonaro's!
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