Veto, filibuster threats ahead of vote next week to fund Homeland Security, roll back executive actions
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DHS funding at center of fight over immigration
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The GOP-led Senate is expected to vote next week on
legislation that keeps the Department of Homeland Security fully operational
through February, but parts of the bill that attempt to reverse President
Obama’s immigration policy set up a major showdown with Democrats.
The expected political battle started before Republicans
took control of the upper chamber, when the parties agreed on a temporary
spending bill that essentially funded the entire federal government through the
fiscal year, with the exception of the homeland security department.
It was a defiant move by the GOP-led House, in response to
Obama’s recent executive actions on illegal immigration, which Democrats
accepted as part of the larger budget deal and that also included significant
compromises on both sides.
The House has already passed the bill, which will keep the
department fully operational past Feb. 27.
But passage in the Senate will be more difficult, with
Democrats vowing strong opposition and Republicans unlikely to not get the 60
votes needed to overcome the Democrats’ filibuster.
Obama and fellow party members also have urged Republicans
to pass a funding bill for the agency “clean” of any language attempting to
roll back the executive actions. And the president has also threatened to veto
such legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated the
first vote on the House bill will be Tuesday. But whether the Kentucky
Republican allows amendments, like he did with the Keystone XL Pipeline
legislation, remains unclear.
‘It’s a debate that will challenge our colleagues on the
other side with a simple proposition: Do they think presidents of either party
should have the power to simply ignore laws that they don’t like?” McConnell,
R-Ky., said on the Senate floor.
“Will our Democratic colleagues work with us to defend key
democratic ideals like separation of powers and the rule of law? … The House
bill does two things -- funds the Department of Homeland Security and reigns in
executive overreach. That’s it. It’s that simple.”
The House-passed bill provides $39.7 billion to finance the
department through the rest of the budget year for counterterrorism,
cybersecurity and other priorities at a time when attacks in Paris and
elsewhere are fresh in the public's mind. Unaffected by the measure is
additional money the agency receives from fees.
As passed in the House, the legislation would also reverse
Obama's decision last fall to provide temporary deportation relief and work
permits to an estimated 4 million immigrants in the country illegally, mostly
people who have children who are citizens or legal permanent residents.
The bill also would eliminate a 2012 directive that has
granted work permits and stays of deportation to more than 600,000 immigrants
who arrived illegally in the U.S. under the age of 16.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the measure
would increase the federal deficit by $7.5 billion over a decade.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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