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Category: Appropriations

Obama Takes Action on Immigration

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President Obama has announced during a prime-time television address on Thursday evening that he will take executive action on immigration. The sweeping actions aim to shield as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and will grant work permits to some.
A new program will allow the parents of US citizens and permanent residents to apply for work permits and deferred deportation. It is estimated that around 4 million parents are eligible to take advantage of this sweeping reform. To be eligible, parents must be here illegally for at least five years and have no felony convictions.
In addition, federal law enforcement officers are directed to shift enforcement efforts to illegal immigrants with criminal records, gang affiliations, or ties to terrorism going forward. There will also be a long-overdue expansion of high-tech visas, and restrictions on would-be entrepreneurs will be loosened to allow them to travel more freely to the US to launch companies.

The GOP has confirmed that the executive actions cannot be blocked through appropriations. While many within the GOP claim the President does not have legal authority to make such sweeping actions, the White House maintains it does and points to the fact that every US President in the last half century has taken executive action on immigration.

 

House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs Announced

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Today House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers announced the Republican Steering Committee has approved the 12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs for the 114th Congress.

In a statement, Chairman Rogers said, “The 12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chairmen are essential to this success. They lead the way in overseeing our federal agencies, and guide spending decisions to make the most responsible and effective use of American tax dollars. Over the next two years, we will have some big challenges and a full plate of ‘to-dos’ ahead of us as we continue to fight for stability, continuity, and responsibility in the federal budget process. These excellent Subcommittee Cardinals will be a tremendous benefit to our efforts. I congratulate them and look forward to working with them in the 114th Congress.”

The Subcommittee Chairs are as follows:

  • Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development – Chairman Robert Aderholt
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science – Chairman John Culberson
  • Subcommittee on Defense – Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development – Chairman Mike Simpson
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services – Chairman Ander Crenshaw
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security – Chairman John Carter
  • Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment – Chairman Ken Calvert
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education – Chairman Tom Cole
  • Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch – Chairman Tom Graves
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs – Chairman Charles Dent
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations – Chairwoman Kay Granger
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart

Senate Passes CR, Adjourns Until Nov. 12

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Last night the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current levels until December 11. The fiscal year ends on September 30, so passage of a CR was critical in avoiding a government shutdown on October 1.

Following passage of the CR, Congress has adjourned until after the November elections. Members of Congress will return to the hill on November 12.

Senate Passes VA and Transportation Bill

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The Senate has passed two key pieces of legislation clearing them for the President’s signature.

The Senate has passed legislation overhauling the scandalized Department of Veterans Affairs, by a vote of  91-3. The House considered the measure earlier in the week. The measure contains provisions expanding Graduate Medical Education at VA Hospitals as well as requiring public universities to offer in-state tuition to active duty servicemembers, their spouses, and dependents. 

Also, the Senate has cleared, by a vote of 81-13, an $11 billion bill to keep highway and transit programs funded through May, acting quickly following House passage of the bill earlier today. Tonight’s vote heads off the possibility of states having federal money for transportation projects throttled starting tomorrow.

House Melts Down

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In what was supposed to be the last series of votes before the August Recess, the House has pulled a vote for legislation that would fund the border crisis. Both an emergency funding measure and a measure  to limit the Deferred Action on Child Arrivals (DACA) program, for which consideration was dependent on the funding measure passing, have been pulled at the last minute, causing mass confusing and potential political disaster just before the August recess.

House Republican leadership has pulled the $659 million supplemental funding bill to fund the efforts at the Mexican border. Earlier this month, President Obama requested nearly $3 billion to fund federal agency efforts in border states responding to a swell of young and underage immigrants from Central America.  Under the House rules for the supplemental, consideration of the supplemental was required before the House could consider and vote on a bill to limit the DACA program, which defers deportations of certain undocumented people who came to the United States as children.

Not long after noon, it became clear that House Republican Leadership did not have the votes. Led by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Tea Party-aligned Members revolted, saying that the supplemental appropriations bill did not go far enough to stem the flow of new migrants and threatened to vote against the GOP-authored measure.

Rather than see the measure defeated, it was pulled from consideration.

The DACA legislation had been unlikely to advance in the Senate and already had been ticketed for a presidential veto.

The decision to pull the $659 million measure is a major embarrassment for new House Republican leadership team. This was first major effort by Rep. Steve Scalise, who was recently elected Majority Whip.

The House will likely consider a revamped funding measure on Friday.