Rep. Rick Allen, House Republicans Demand Senate Democrats Allow Debate on Bill to End Obama’s Unconstitutional Immigration Actions
Washington,
February 13, 2015
U.S. Congressman Rick Allen (R-Ga.-12) today joined many House Republicans in writing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to demand that he and his Democrat colleagues allow debate on a critical bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security through Fiscal Year 2015 and defund President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. In their letter, they note that Senate Democrats have repeatedly obstructed even debating this bill in order to protect President Obama’s unconstitutional acts and shield Senate Democrats – many of whom have publicly stated that they oppose the President’s unilateral actions – from voting on the substance of the House-passed bill. Congressman Allen and his colleagues write, “It is utterly appalling that you and other Senate Democrats believe that protecting the President’s unconstitutional actions is more important than funding a Department tasked with keeping Americans safe. By preventing the Senate from taking up the House-passed bill, you are also denying the American people a fair debate on this issue. And a fair debate is what the American people want…” Full text of the letter to Senator Reid is below. A copy of the signed letter can be found here. Dear Minority Leader Reid, We write to express our strong concern that Senate Democrats are blocking debate on a critical bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security’s operations for Fiscal Year 2015 and defund unconstitutional programs created unilaterally by President Obama.
Three times, you and other members of your caucus have prevented even a debate of the House-passed Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. While we understand that you and many of your Democrat colleagues are opposed to the provisions in the House-passed bill that would defund President Obama’s effective rewriting of our immigration laws, you should at least support debating the merits of such an important funding bill and offer amendments to the provisions you wish to change. By preventing the Senate from taking up the House-passed bill, you are also denying the American people a fair debate on this issue. And a fair debate is what the American people want – they fundamentally disagree with President Obama’s actions and believe that he has unlawfully acted alone. For example, a Washington Post/ABC News poll last month found that 57% of registered voters believe that President Obama’s grant of deferred action should be blocked. However, you have repeatedly obstructed even debating this bill in order to protect President Obama’s unconstitutional acts and shield Senators of your party – many of whom have publicly stated that they oppose the President’s unilateral actions – from voting on the substance of the House-passed bill. It is utterly appalling that you and other Senate Democrats believe that protecting the President’s unconstitutional actions is more important than funding a Department tasked with keeping Americans safe. By preventing the Senate from taking up the House-passed bill, you are also denying the American people a fair debate on this issue. And a fair debate is what the American people want – they fundamentally disagree with President Obama’s actions and believe that he has unlawfully acted alone. For example, a Washington Post/ABC News poll last month found that 57% of registered voters believe that President Obama’s grant of deferred action should be blocked. President Obama’s actions are tilting the scales of our government in the executive’s favor, threatening to unravel our system of checks and balances and imperiling all our liberties. The House of Representatives has acted decisively to defend the Constitution from this clear and present danger by voting to defund the president’s executive actions. For the sake of our nation, our two bodies must stand together on a bipartisan basis. But in order to do this, the Senate Democrat caucus must cease to play politics with the Constitution. You must end your filibuster of the House-passed bill and allow it to proceed to the floor for consideration. History will record our actions and how we honor the trust placed in all of us by the American people.
Sincerely, |