Washington Examiner
By Susan Ferrechio
May 12, 2014
House
Speaker John Boehner said he is "nudging" former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
to run for president and he wants to take up immigration reform
legislation in small pieces,
starting first with border security.
Boehner
made the remarks at the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce during a
question-and-answer session with the editor of Texas Monthly.
Boehner,
when asked whether the House would take up immigration reform this
year, said it would depend on whether he can "bring my members along,"
and he acknowledged
that one group of GOP lawmakers has no interest in taking up the issue
during an election year.
"There
are some members of my party that just do not want to deal with this,"
Boehner said. "It’s no secret. But I do believe the vast majority of
members of our party
do want to deal with this, and they want to deal with this honestly,
openly and fairly."
Boehner
said if the House is able to move on immigration reform, he won’t take
up the Senate bill or mimic the massive comprehensive measure passed by
that chamber.
Instead,
he wants to take up between four and six different “bite-sized” bills,
starting with a border security measure, and debate them over a period
of weeks or months.
“When you break them down into smaller chunks,” Boehner said, “you end up with less opposition.”
Boehner,
when asked whether he would move a bill that includes a pathway to
citizenship for those who are here illegally, said he would look to the
people who have achieved
citizenship legitimately, by waiting in line for years and going
through the process legally.
“They
are the people that I will look to,” Boehner said. “Because whatever it
is we agree on has to pass the straight-faced test,” Boehner said. “How
do the people who
did this the hard way, how do they feel about the process?”
Boehner
blamed President Obama for the GOP pushback against an immigration
reform bill, saying Obama's decision to use executive action to
circumvent Congress has broken
down the trust between Republicans and the White House.
Boehner
pointed to the dozens of changes Obama has made to the health care law
for reasons many believe are related to lessening the blow of the new
law in the months
ahead of the critical midterm election.
“I
do think we are getting closer on the policy side, in terms of how to
deal with [immigration],” Boehner said. “The problem we’ve got is the
president has to demonstrate
that we can trust him.”
Boehner
said he was “looking forward” to running for House speaker again in
January and said he has a “very good” relationship with his colleagues,
including the ones
who disagree with him.
“I’m running for re-election,” Boehner said. “I expect I will be speaker.”
But he would not guarantee serving out his full term.
“I can’t predict what will happen,” Boehner said, noting that he is 65 years old.
“I’m living on borrowed time,” Boehner joked.
He
said it was “way too early” to pick a top GOP presidential candidate.
“We’ve got a lot of good candidates out there, and yes, Jeb Bush is my
friend, I think he’s make
a great president. And I’ve been nudging him for some time.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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