http://thehill.com/policy/finance/224522-gop-weighing-two-defunding-options-on-immigrationBy Rebecca Shabad - 11/18/14 11:45 AM EST
House Republicans are considering two options to fund the government while limiting an executive action by President Obama on immigration.
Under one option, the GOP would fund the entire government except for agencies carrying out Obama’s order, which is expected to provide legal status to millions of immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally.
“We can pass all of the bills that have nothing to do with his executive order. That goes through controversy-free. When we do the other bill, it doesn’t include the funding for his executive action,” said Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), who is leading the charge for defunding the order.
A second option would fund the entire government, but have the new Congress look to rescind funding next year from agencies carrying out the order.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), who has been pushing for an omnibus, said this option could make more sense.
He also hinted that he has discussed the idea with incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and suggested it would be difficult to legislatively attack the president’s executive actions on immigration before he takes them.
“We don’t know what [Obama's] trying to do,” Rogers said in response to questions about what Republicans could try to rescind.
Both options are intended to keep the government funded, and prevent Republicans from taking the blame for a shutdown.
But some conservatives acknowledged the first plan could shutter parts of the government, such as the Department of Justice.
Lawmakers said Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has committed to developing a plan to block Obama’s action, but Boehner himself said lawmakers are discussing a number of ideas.
“What we’re trying to do is to get to the option that we and the Senate can be unified on and put the president in a box,” said Salmon, who added that he would be meeting with House GOP leaders Tuesday to explore all of the options and nail down a solution.
Freshman Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), who was sworn into Congress last week, said he might be open to Rogers’s proposed plan.
“If that’s true, if the House and the Senate can rescind without the threat of a veto, I’d give that a strong look,” he said.
But Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a staunch opponent of Obama’s immigration proposals, said the approach could backfire.
“If there are discussions about rescissions, that probably ignores the very likely veto that one would get. If we’re talking about rescissions, we should have a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate before we go down that path,” he said.
King said he would support one large government spending bill and a separate short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would hold back funding for the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.
Even if defunding those agencies led to a partial shutdown, King said immigration services might not take a giant hit.
“Don’t we remember that border control, [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ... they all functioned through the shutdown over a year ago because they’re essential services."
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) on Monday introduced legislation to authorize a lawsuit against the Obama administration for issuing an immigration-related executive action. A lawsuit could also serve as an option for House Republicans' response.
Brooks said that “at least 10 or 15” different members went up to the microphone during the conference meeting to propose various options.
GOP leaders in both chambers have signaled they would prefer to approve a spending bill through fiscal 2015 to clear the decks for the new Congress.
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who’s close to GOP leaders, said that approach appears to be approved by a majority of the conference.
“It’s important to clear the decks before Christmas and start the year clean,” he said. “I think leadership is trying to direct the caucus toward an omnibus.”
But a number of conservatives back Salmon’s approach.
“I think we need to pass all funding bills so that the entire government is completely funded except a super scalpel approach for those items that relate to the president’s unconstitutional illegal actions on work permits to illegal aliens,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).
She said Republicans should write a stand-alone bill so it specifically blocks funding for government agencies that issue work permits to people living in the United States illegally.
“We don’t want any American to suffer so we want the government fully funded but that particular area needs to be defunded,” she said.
“I don’t think the president understands how he’s going to drive his party into oblivion by this action,” Bachmann added.
