[Costello:] The House is back in session this hour trying to avoid a Homeland Security shutdown and at the same time trying to knock down President Obama's executive action on immigration which is overseen by DHS. Our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash live in Washington to bring us up to date on the latest developments. Good morning, Dana.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Chief Congressional Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. Well, we expect the Senate to act formally today to pass that clean bill fully funded through the end of the fiscal year. But, of course, as we've been talking about, the big question is what is the House going to do? Our Deirdre Walsh is on Capitol Hill outside a meeting of House Republican leaders where they're discussing options. And those options we're told include, one, doing what the Senate is doing, funding the department, but also having a vote on blocking the president's immigration plan which is really at the core of what conservatives are complaining about. That's why this has all been held up in the first place because they wanted to link the two. And the second option is to because the clock is ticking, pass a short-term spending bill just to keep the department running for a couple of weeks. And the third I think is what is perhaps most fascinating. Somehow link the funding bill to the court case that happened in Texas, effectively putting an injunction on the president's executive order. And that's something that I thought was very interesting, that the Senate one of the members of the Senate leadership, John Barrasso, said to you in the last hour. Listen to this.
[Sen. John Barrasso , Wyoming:] The courts have acted. Accept the victory that the courts have given us, which is that the president doesn't have the authority to do what he has done and vote to continue to fund the Department of Homeland Security. I think that is the right decision.
[Bash:] So the reason why I thought that was so telling, Carol, that that was his answer to you, was because that clearly is the message that you are hearing from the leadership, certainly obviously in the Senate but maybe even in the House to the conservatives who are saying we've got to do everything we can here in Congress to push back on the president's policies. The message being, wait a second, we had a court a very important court decision in Texas doing it for us. So why don't we do what we need to do, give the money to the Department of Homeland Security and make sure that Americans are safe and let the court work its will. So we'll see how they try to thread that needle in the hours to come.
[Costello:] Do you think that the House speaker is telling his members that behind closed doors?
[Bash:] Not yet. There's probably going to be a meeting later today. But it is entirely possible that he will do that. The way that the speaker has sort of learned to lead the caucus which is not so easy when you have so many conservatives who have been pressuring him for years really to hold the line against the president's policies is to be careful to listen and to kind of as one aide has said to me time and time again, sort of let the caucus go through their stages of grief about the reality of their situation, their political situation. So unclear how quickly he's going to get there, but, you know, again, we're talking about tomorrow night when the time is going to come for the money to run out.
[Costello:] For the funding to run out. Right?
[Bash:] For the Homeland Security Department.
[Costello:] Dana Bash, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
[Bash:] Thank you.
[Costello:] While you're welcome. While it's easy to get lost in the partisan battles on Capitol Hill, it's important not to forget that American citizens are caught in the middle. The men and women who protect our ports and our borders may be left without a paycheck. Victor Martinez is a TSA agent at the Los Angeles International Airport. Welcome.
[Victor Martinez, Tsa Officer, Los Angeles International Airport:] Good morning, Carol.
[Costello:] Good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. So as you sit back and watch the situation unfold in Congress, what goes through your mind?
[Martinez:] Really I'm just a little frustrated that we're having to go through this a second time. A year and a half ago we just had to go through a government-wide shutdown. So that's in the back of my mind, you know, wondering if this will happen and how long will it go on for.
[Costello:] So you're required to show up to work even though you won't get your paycheck, right? Some Americans say, well, you know, so you might not get paid for a month, what's the big deal?
[Martinez:] I mean, yes, certainly we have to show up to work no matter what. I mean, the mission is important. You know, it's definitely concerning not knowing when you're going to get paid because then you have to start prioritizing what you need to take care of. And certainly that just creates a lot of worries when we're out there, you know, trying to protect the public. And we certainly will be out there protecting the public. But certainly not concerns you want to have as you're doing your day- to-day job, ensuring the safety of the public. And you certainly don't want to go back home and then, you know, not have any answers for your familiarly as far as when you're going to get paid and, you know, you have birthday parties coming up. And then, you know too many unanswered questions. And you don't want to be left in that position.
[Costello:] Well, most of you and your fellow employees, you pretty much live paycheck to paycheck? Is that fair to say?
[Martinez:] I think that is a fair statement to say, yes. Definitely most of us do live paycheck to paycheck. You know, certainly we're not the best paid in the federal government, so certainly we do live paycheck to paycheck.
[Costello:] Some people have pointed to morale among TSA agents, that they're the agency that's going to be punished for this partisan fight in the House. What's the morale like among your co-workers?
[Martinez:] Certainly in the last few years, surveys have said that DHS and TSA, you know, morale ranks at the bottom, government-wide. And certainly, you know, right now knowing that this, you know, pending possible shutdown, it's you know, brought a lot of negativity to the workforce and just impacted our morale much more, knowing that we've gone through this once already and we know that experience. So we certainly are very concerned and yes, really worried.
[Costello:] All right. Victor Martinez, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.
[Martinez:] Thank you.
[Costello:] Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the annual CPAC is in full swing. Find out who is already firing up conservatives next.