Rice political scientists available to discuss potential DHS shutdown

Rice University Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations EXPERT ALERT Amy McCaig 713-348-6777 amym@rice.edu

Rice political scientists available to discuss potential DHS shutdown

HOUSTON – (Feb. 25, 2015) – As the Department of Homeland Security faces a shutdown following a congressional stalemate on immigration, Rice University political scientist Paul Brace is available to discuss fallout for the new Republican majorities and Rice political scientist Richard Stoll is available to discuss how a DHS shutdown will impact the country.

Brace, the Clarence L. Carter Professor of Political Science, said the situation might raise some questions about the new GOP majority’s ability to lead.

“In the impasse over the Department of Homeland Security, Republicans find that majority control of Congress does not guarantee the ability to govern,” Brace said. “Facing difficulties over a noncontroversial issue like national security, questions grow over the ability of the new Republican majorities to deliver legislation on more divisive and controversial issues.”

Stoll, the Albert Thomas Chair in Political Science and scholar at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said that if the DHS shuts down, approximately 85 percent of employees would continue to work without pay.

“A shutdown would also halt U.S.-Mexico border enhancements; cut Secret Service funding; delay preparations for the 2016 election; stop DHS aid of $2.5 billion to states, cities and towns; suspend training of border patrol recruits; and would likely cause airport security delays,” Stoll said.

Stoll noted that the parts of DHS involved in implementing President Barack Obama’s immigration program – which many Republicans oppose – would not be impacted.

Brace, an expert on American politics, is co-author of “Follow the Leader: Opinion Polls and the Modern Presidents,” author of “State Government and Economic Performance” and co-editor of “The Presidency in American Politics” and “American State and Local Politics.” He has published research in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Polity, Social Science Quarterly, American Politics Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly and other journals.

Stoll, an accomplished scholar of international conflict, is regularly quoted by the news media about national and international security issues. He has used computer simulation techniques and statistical analysis to study topics such as arms competitions, comparative foreign policy and political realism. Stoll is currently engaged in an effort to create events data from online news sources and to predict the outbreak of serious international conflict.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu.

-30-

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,920 undergraduates and 2,567 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just over 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life by the Princeton Review and for best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go here.