Obama Vows to 'Happily' Veto Bills That Reverse Amnesty
Friday, 30 Jan 2015 11:24 AM
President Barack Obama declared Thursday night that he would "happily" veto legislation he felt would worsen the nation's immigration problems.
Speaking to House Democrats at a forum in Philadelphia, Obama warned congressional Republicans not to "compound the problem" instead of working "to solve the broken immigration system."
Obama spoke just days before Senate Democrats say they will filibuster a House-passed immigration bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while rolling back years of administration efforts to shield illegal immigrants from deportation.
Senate Democrats are demanding a "clean" DHS bill that leaves Obama's policies in place, while House conservatives say no such bill could pass the Republican-controlled chamber.
Compounding the problem for House Republicans is opposition from Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, recently appointed chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, who told radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham earlier this week that a DHS funding proposal pushed by the House GOP leadership "is not strong and will not be effective."
According to Sessions, it makes little sense to spend money aimed at securing the border without also insisting that the administration strengthen interior enforcement of immigration laws as well.
DHS funding is scheduled to run out on Feb. 27. But Politico reported that some House Republicans are saying that failure to enact legislation funding the department beyond that date might not be such a bad thing because most of its employees are considered "essential."
That means they would likely remain on the job even though they would not receive their paychecks.
"In other words, it's not the end of the world if we get to that in time because the national security functions would not stop," said GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.
Although Diaz-Balart added the caveat that Congress should not ignore the late February funding deadline, Obama seized on the Florida lawmaker's comments to depict Republicans as not serious about funding homeland security.
"You think we can afford to have our Department of Homeland Security not functioning because of political games in Washington?" Obama asked.
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© 2015 Newsmax. All rights reserved.Speaking to House Democrats at a forum in Philadelphia, Obama warned congressional Republicans not to "compound the problem" instead of working "to solve the broken immigration system."
Obama spoke just days before Senate Democrats say they will filibuster a House-passed immigration bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while rolling back years of administration efforts to shield illegal immigrants from deportation.
Compounding the problem for House Republicans is opposition from Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, recently appointed chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, who told radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham earlier this week that a DHS funding proposal pushed by the House GOP leadership "is not strong and will not be effective."
DHS funding is scheduled to run out on Feb. 27. But Politico reported that some House Republicans are saying that failure to enact legislation funding the department beyond that date might not be such a bad thing because most of its employees are considered "essential."
That means they would likely remain on the job even though they would not receive their paychecks.
"In other words, it's not the end of the world if we get to that in time because the national security functions would not stop," said GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.
Although Diaz-Balart added the caveat that Congress should not ignore the late February funding deadline, Obama seized on the Florida lawmaker's comments to depict Republicans as not serious about funding homeland security.
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