However, Erickson points to Sean Davis' explanation of how Republicans can indeed defund Obama’s executive order...they just don’t want to.RedState: You people are being played by the GOP. Remember when the GOP wanted to raise the debt ceiling, but claim they would oppose it. They voted to raise it, but then Congress could vote to stop the raise. The President could then veto the stoppage and the debt ceiling would raise. But the GOP could claim they opposed him.
That is happening again. This time it is with amnesty.
The House GOP is going to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government. Then, in January, they will try to defund what they’ve already funded. The President will veto it, but the GOP can say they tried.
They won in a historic wave election against the President with a majority of the public on their side on this issue and they are going to cave.
Already, the House Appropriations Committee has released a statement saying the appropriations process cannot stop the President. The statement reads:
The primary agency for implementing the President’s new immigration executive order is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This agency is entirely self-funded through the fees it collects on various immigration applications. Congress does not appropriate funds for any of its operations, including the issuance of immigration status or work permits, with the exception of the “E-Verify” program. Therefore, the Appropriations process cannot be used to “de-fund” the agency. The agency has the ability to continue to collect and use fees to continue current operations, and to expand operations as under a new Executive Order, without needing legislative approval by the Appropriations Committee or the Congress, even under a continuing resolution or a government shutdown.Got that? No appropriation can be made from the federal treasury without Congress’s consent, but they cannot stop this.
TheFederalist: President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration hasn’t even been issued yet, and already congressional Republicans are desperately trying to come up with reasons why they’re powerless to do anything about it.
Here’s what the House Appropriations Committee spokesman told The Hill earlier today:
It would be “impossible to defund President Obama’s executive order through a government spending bill, House Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing said Thursday.That is absolute nonsense. The notion that Congress can turn on a money spigot but is banned from turning it off is nonsense. And the worst part is that it’s willful nonsense. There is simply no law whatsoever that says that the House is only allowed to X and Y but not Z on an appropriations bill.
Congress doesn’t provide funding to U.S. Citizenship and Immgiration Services (CIS), the agency responsible for issuing work permits and green cards. Instead, the agency is funded through fees.
“We cannot, literally cannot, defund that agency in an appropriations bill because we don’t appropriate that agency. That agency is entirely-fee funded,” Hing told reporters.
“As of right now, our understanding is the primary agency responsible for implementing any type of executive order is CIS and we don’t fund CIS. There are no appropriated dollars,” she added.
Now why would appropriators be so invested in pushing something completely false about the Congressional power of the purse? Easy. They don’t want another defund/shutdown fight. I get that. I understand that a lot of Republicans think the 2013 shutdown seriously hurt the long-term interests of the party. I don’t agree with it, but I understand that concern. But what’s happening right now is that rather than just saying, “We don’t want another defund/shutdown fight,” appropriators are dishonestly pretending that even if they wanted one, it’s impossible. Which is balderdash.
In other words, the House Republicans are going to fund the President’s amnesty plan and then try to tell you how much they oppose it. You are being played.Kinda puts a damper on the 'well, at least the Republicans have the Senate back' line, doesn't it?
Related links: Republican leaders hope to contain outrage in the ranks over Obama immigration moves (RINO BS)
Poll Finds Americans Want Parties to Work Together (more RINO BS)
A time for testing (a worthwhile piece!)
ADDENDUM: Speaking of funding...actually, looting is a more operative word.
ConservativeHQ: One of the issues that killed the Senate’s hated “Gang of Eight” amnesty for illegal aliens bill was that it allowed the amnestied illegal aliens to immediately access public benefits reserved for citizens and legal immigrants.And Republicans still wanna pretend their strategy still has a chance? Please...
House conservatives correctly argued that the “Gang of Eight” bill and its various House companion bills would allow illegal aliens immediate access to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and various other welfare programs, such as food stamps.
While the proponents of the “Gang of Eight” bill tried to finesse the issue the bottom line was and is that once the government gives a Social Security number and card to an illegal alien that opens up a whole smorgasbord of federal, state and local benefits – and it also opens up the possibility of registering to vote.
Now the Federation of American Immigration Reform has produced a stunning report that details how Obama’s planned illegal “executive amnesty” will provide the same free ride that the “Gang of Eight” bill did.
“Obama’s executive amnesty isn’t only unconstitutional but costly; from day one it opens up federal and state benefits to individuals who are still illegal aliens, regardless of the label the President puts on them,” FAIR executive director Julie Kirchner told Matt Boyle of Breitbart News in an exclusive interview in advance of the report’s public release.
The seven-page report from FAIR details how either of the two major mechanisms through which Obama would grant the executive amnesty to millions of illegal aliens would ultimately end up with those millions of illegal aliens taking U.S. taxpayer benefits away from struggling Americans almost immediately.
ADDENDUM II: Oh, btw...following Obama's speech, this is all the House Republicans could muster up...
We need a real fix. Not a quick fix. #immigration pic.twitter.com/NqH5s5S0hr
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) November 21, 2014
What f'n fix?! Better yet, nothing's being enforced to fix in the first place! Pathetic.
Related link: Amnesty Mark Levin Outlines RINOS 4 Point Plan To Continue To Getting Butts Kicked By Obama Listen
