Posted on 07/31/2014 11:41:20 AM PDT by servo1969
House GOP leaders canceled a Thursday vote on their $659 million border bill after failing to win over conservative members who opposed giving any more money to President Obama.
A significant number of Republicans had balked at sending any money to the White House for the border, and Democrats were generally united in opposing the measure.
The decision is another defeat for House GOP leaders, who have repeatedly failed to bring their members in line on tough votes.
Signs of trouble emerged late Wednesday night when the House Rules Committee delayed reporting a rule for the border bill.
Even a late decision by leaders to set up a separate vote to prevent President Obama's Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program from being expanded didn't save the funding bill. The DACA program defers the deportations of certain people who came to the United States illegally as children. The House would only have voted on that measure if the funding bill had been approved.
The measure’s defeat means the House will not vote later Thursday on that measure, which was intended to entice conservatives into backing the funding bill.
It is unclear what happens next. The House will vote for the last time around 2 p.m. on the Highway Trust Fund before leaving for the five-week August recess.
After the vote was called off, House GOP leadership tried to pin the blame on Obama.
"This situation shows the intense concern within our conference – and among the American people – about the need to ensure the security of our borders and the president’s refusal to faithfully execute our laws," the GOP leadership said in the statement. "We will continue to work on solutions to the border crisis and other challenges facing our country."
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and other Republicans had championed the changes to the Obama DACA program, arguing it had fueled the surge of child immigrants, mostly from Central America. The administration says most of the immigrants are fleeing violence in their home countries, though officials have acknowledged many mistakenly believe they will be allowed to stay in the United States.
The $659 million price tag on the House bill would have been far less than the Obama administration's original request of $3.7 billion and is also below a $2.7 billion bill the Senate is considering.
The Senate advanced its measure earlier this week, but it does not appear Democrats have enough votes to win final approval of their border legislation.
That means both chambers are likely to leave Washington having taken no actions to address the border crisis.
That will allow President Obama to bolster his arguments that a dysfunctional Congress is preventing Washington from getting its work done.
White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer tweeted after the vote that by pulling their bill, House Republicans had showed once again why Obama "must act on his own to solve problems."
The White House issued a veto threat against the bill on Wednesday in an effort to help Democrats defeat it.
At least two agencies are project to run out of funding in the next two months. Customs and Border Protection is projected to run out of money in mid-September and Immigration and Customs Enforcement by mid-August.
During floor debate, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) implored his colleagues to pass the measure.
"If we do not risk this bill today, you're going to risk these resources running out," Rogers said. "More and more immigrants will continue to flood across he border if you fail to act."
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), one of the few House Democrats inclined to support the GOP funding bill, urged passage of a bill before leaving for the recess.
"I think today in a bipartisan way we need to look for that right answer," Cuellar said.
Most Democrats opposed the measure because of language changing a 2008 human trafficking law so that unaccompanied child migrants can be sent back to their home countries faster.
Republicans argue the law has handcuffed authorities, preventing them from quickly deporting young Central American immigrants back to their home countries. Authorities have the power to send young people from Mexico back to that country more quickly.
Under the House proposal, child migrants who do not want to return to their home countries would remain in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services while awaiting a hearing, which would have to be within seven days after a welfare screening.
Administration officials over the last month have signaled support for changing the law, but in Wednesday's veto threat the administration said the GOP bill would make the problem at the border worse. It argued the changes to the 2008 law would undercut due process for immigrants.
This is really bad reporting.
The reason Ted Cruz fought against it, and why many followed him, was because the provision had no measure against an expected executive order from Obama granting amnesty to millions.
As soon as illegals started flooding in Boehner should have said the president cannot be trusted on immigration therefore there will be no immigration bill as long as this president is in office.
That’s what a leader would have done. Not a cowardly little crybaby.
That bill wold have been another victory for Jarrett and Obama who are now overseeing the closure of our borders to Jews by denying them visas in Israel. WTG Muslim Marxists!
The decision is another defeat for House GOP leaders...
Hey, let’s give Atlantic City to the illegals! Not good for much else at this point.
This is really bad reporting.That's because it's not journalism.
It's propaganda.
Give them Detroit (let them pay the water bills first) and then Chicago.
Why should they give him more money? It’s just going to get funneled to whatever Acorn is calling itself now, to pay them to indoctrinate illegals to be good Democrat voters.
Par for the course for "the [over the] hill", a propaganda arm of the national (sic) government, and by extension, the 'Rat party.
I see on Jamie DuPree inside Washington twitter that Boo Hooner is trying to rally troops to give obama the money for the crises he created as we speak. They start the meeting at 3 pm EST. Keep calling— faxing— emailing yelling.This is a pivotal momemt in the sovereignty of our borders!!
As 0bama proved last year when the National Parks ran out of money we are just going to have to close the Borders until further notice because of lack of funds to operate them . . .
< /sarcasm>
I will be surprised if this holds up.
Yep, keep the pressure on!
Melt the phone!!
It's more like House GOP Leaders who are out of step with the people and who need to be reined in.
-PJ
” - - - “The evidence shows that the amnesty President Obama announced in 2012 is driving record numbers of immigrants to enter our nation illegally,” Cruz said in a statement Tuesday. “ Because of President Obama’s amnesty, children are being abused and exploited by dangerous drug cartels and transnational gangs.” - - - “
Lead on Ted, make us proud!
phones have melted in the district of corruption.
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