Republicans Give Up Leverage, Biden Ignores Constitution and Congress...Again
Steve Dittmer | AFF Sentinel
Colorado Springs, CO
Originally sent to subscribers 04/22/24
If you wondered why the House was working on the weekend, it was partially because they are off again this week.
As you likely know, the House passed separate-but-connected bills to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and Pacific allies. A fourth bill requires TikTok to divest ownership from the Communist Chinese Party or not operate in the U.S.
You might have some questions as to what happened to the link to border security that was the long-time position of Republicans to consider foreign aid. The only leverage Republicans had to use to get something done to improve or fix our horrible border problem was to link it to the foreign aid most members supported and President Biden would sign.
It appears House Speaker Mike Johnson gets the blame for giving up the leverage of that linkage.
Before bills are cleared to go to the floor of the House, they must get through the Rules Committee first. That committee lays out procedures for the bill to be considered. In two emergency meetings of that committee last week, the current border bill failed to get enough votes, on a panel with more Republicans than Democrats, to get out of the Rules Committee and on to the floor, according to the Nebraska Examiner. The bill was similar to the HR 2 bill the House passed months ago, with an added $9 billion for state grant border programs. The mandate for employers to verify immigration status and eligibility for employment status had been removed.
The Senate, with leadership uninterested in fixing the border crisis, had ignored the earlier border bill. Three members of the Rules Committee refused to vote to advance the new bill because it was not being included with the foreign aid bills: Reps. Chip Roy (R-Tx), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ralph Norman (R-SC).
In a very rare break with modern partisan political habit, four Democrats voted with five establishment Republicans on the House Rules Committee to advance the package of four bills. The three Freedom Caucus members voted against.
The rule the committee crafted for the foreign aid and TikTok bills was designed to make sure all of them would pass, Heritage Action pointed out. While a separate vote was taken for each of the four bills, the rule said all of them would sink or swim together. So, politically speaking, a member could tell voters he or she voted against the Ukraine bill, for example, but not jeopardize passage of the entire package.
The border bill did eventually advance to the floor but under a suspension of the rules that then meant a 2/3 majority would be needed to pass. The bill failed 215 for to 199 against, with five Democrats voting for the bill.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler called the bill “a joke” and accused Republicans of not wanting to really solve the border problem, just wanting to keep it as a campaign issue. Of course, the bill the Senate passed earlier this year guaranteed at least 5,000 illegals/day entry into the U.S., which was the main reason House Republicans opposed it. And, the Democrats blamed it all on Donald Trump.
Roy, on the floor of the House, took issue with the way Speaker Johnson handled the package of bills. The package provided no “pay-fors” and nothing for border security. The bills were packaged as amendments to the Senate foreign aid bill, Roy complained.
He criticized the “Process predesigned to achieve the desired predetermined outcome, with no border security.”
Johnson, privy to high level intelligence briefings, made a judgement that the timing of the Ukraine aid had reached a critical juncture and fighting to keep the border bill attached would take too long, as it has proven impossible to advance up to now.
Whether it will engender the end of Johnson’s speakership only time will tell. Three Republicans have signed on to a motion to vacate the chair so far.
In another D.C. move, President Biden announced -- on “Earth Day” natch -- executive orders to shut down 13 million acres to natural resource development in Alaska.
Congress set aside the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska over 100 years ago. Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan noted that Biden does not have the authority to shut down acres Congress mandated for resource development. Sullivan also noted the native American tribes in Alaska all opposed Biden’s move but Biden contradicted their positions, claiming they favored his move.
This is not ANWAR but a separate region.
And the Interior Department also announced it was denying a permit for a 200-plus mile road into the Ambler Mining District. The District is one of the world’s richest deposits of a list of critical minerals we need. The Trump Administration had granted the permit but Biden used an enviro-zealot lawsuit as an excuse to review and veto it.
So the administration and the left are subsidizing computer chip and EV manufacturing but opposing the minerals necessary, imposing sanctions on Alaska but not enforcing them on Iran and Venezuela.
And speaking of national security, Iran is using billions of dollars of oil money and Biden cash to fund terrorism around the world.
To contribute to AFF with a credit card there are two options:
To use any credit card on Square, click first link below:
To use your Paypal acct. click below:
Comments