Reuters
By David Lawder and Patricia Zengerle
January 7, 2015
Republicans
in the House of Representatives are pursuing a strategy to choke off
funding for President Barack Obama's recent immigration order that could
force a shutdown
for parts of the Department of Homeland Security.
Republican
lawmakers and aides said on Wednesday that a funding measure for DHS,
which secures U.S. borders, airports, coastal waters and other critical
facilities, as
well as controlling the agencies that are to implement Obama's
immigration order, could be introduced by Friday and ready for a vote
next week.
The
sprawling agency was not included in a $1.1 trillion spending bill
passed in December so that Republicans could retain leverage to fight
Obama's plan to lift the threat
of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants.
With
Republicans now in control of both the House and Senate, they stand a
much greater chance of passing a measure aimed at stopping the
immigration order.
House
Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions said Republicans would likely
include language to specifically forbid DHS from spending any money to
implement the immigration
order, whether appropriated by Congress or collected from fees. So
activities like the vetting of undocumented immigrants would be cut off,
he told reporters.
Sessions
said that Obama would be expected to veto the DHS bill, putting the
president in the position of allowing the agency's spending authority to
expire on Feb. 27.
"We think that's wrong," Sessions said of a possible veto.
Two
days into the new Republican-controlled Congress, the White House has
taken a combative stance by issuing two veto threats - one a bill to
approve the Keystone XL
oil pipeline and another on a plan to weaken the Obamacare health
reform law.
The
DHS measure's language is still under discussion but is tricky because
the agency responsible for putting the order into motion, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
is supported mostly by fee revenue.
In
addition, the agency's critical functions, such as transportation
security and border patrols, do not shut down when spending authority
lapses, potentially limiting
pain associated with an Obama veto.
During
a 16-day government shutdown in October 2013, about 85 percent of the
agency's 231,117 employees remained on the job, deemed exempt because
they were directly involved
in protecting lives and property, according to a report by the
Congressional Research Service.
The
Republican plan to fight the immigration order could also be married
with some border security enhancements, House Appropriations Committee
Chairman Hal Rogers said
on Monday night. "We're discussing all avenues," he added.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment