Heritage Action Stresses Need to Block Executive Amnesty in ‘Cromnibus’

With appropriators set to unveil their much anticipated government funding measure Monday, the conservative Heritage Action is reiterating its threat to negatively score lawmakers who vote in favor of the spending package if it fails to block Obama’s executive amnesty.

“[U]nless House GOP leaders reverse course and decide to fight the president’s action on immigration, Heritage Action will key vote against the so-called cromnibus,” Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler said in an email.

Leadership has kept the details of the $1.014 trillion spending bill close to the vest as the deadline for passing the measure fast approaches. 

The government would shut down after Dec. 11 if Congress fails to pass a spending bill. That leaves little time for lawmakers to actually work out the details of the legislation before they will be required to vote. 

The package is expected to be a hybrid of an omnibus and a Continuing Resolution, with the measure funding most of the government through September 2015, except for the Department of Homeland Security. DHS would only be funded for a short time, into the next Congress. 

DHS is charged with implementing Obama’s executive amnesty and leadership argues it will have more leverage to fight Obama’s executive actions on immigration when the next Congress convenes. 

Of concern for many conservatives, however, is the issue of funding the president’s executive actions on immigration at all. Some estimate that as many as 50 conservative lawmakers’ votes hinges on seeing the defund language inserted into the package.

Given that such language is not expected to be added, leadership will likely need Democratic support to get the measure over the finish line. Last week House Speaker John Boehner said he expected bipartisan support for the measure.

Like the conservatives pushing to fight executive amnesty now, however, Heritage Action says the funding measure must confront Obama’s executive actions and it will “key vote against the bill unless it contains legislative language that stops the implementation of the President’s unlawful amnesty program.”

“The fight is now, not next year. Americans expect real action, not a show vote,” Heritage Action’s chief executive officer Michael Needham said last week.