The Hill
By Martin Matishak
May 14, 2015
Rep.
Mo Brooks (Ala.) is trying to rally his fellow Republicans to support
his legislation that would eliminate language in the annual defense
policy bill that could lead
to illegal immigrants serving in the military.
“As
America’s military downsizes, there are a limited number of enlistment
opportunities for American citizens. Each time an illegal alien takes an
enlistment opportunity,
an America or lawful immigrant loses an enlistment opportunity. The
ratio is one-to-one. Period. That is math,” Brooks said Thursday in a
“Dear Colleague” letter to House GOP members.
He
said that, even though he has voted for every National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) since he joined Congress, “I cannot and will
not vote to undermine America’s
national security.”
The
last-minute lobbying comes as the full House gets ready to debate the
massive $612 billion policy blueprint that sets spending levels for all
Pentagon programs and
initiatives.
Late
Wednesday night, the House Rules Committee voted along party lines to
allow 135 amendments to the fiscal 2016 NDAA, including the measure by
Brooks.
The
amendment would strike a provision by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that
encourages the secretary of Defense to review allowing recipients of
President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to serve in the armed
forces.
Brooks
and other conservatives have warned that the text could threaten the
passage of the measure, which Congress has approved for 53 consecutive
years.
In
his letter, the Alabama lawmaker repeated several points of the
argument he made before the Rules Committee, especially about the
existing provision’s potential impact
on jobs.
Brooks also noted that conservative groups Heritage Action and NumbersUSA are “scoring” the floor vote on Gallego’s proposal.
“Today’s
vote to strip the Gallego amendment from the NDAA boils down to one
question. Do you support and represent illegal aliens or do you support
and represent Americans?”
he asked.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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