GOP legislators, led by Georgia Rep. Tom Graves, are working to kill off a Democratic measure which has been added to the House’s 2018 spending plan and will allow younger illegal immigrants to find jobs in government.
The Democrat-drafted and -backed rule was inserted into the House’s version of the 2018 spending plan via a during a nighttime July 13 debate at the GOP-dominated House Committee on Appropriations. The jobs-for-illegals amendment was adopted because some GOP legislators joined Democrats in supporting the measure, but their identity and number remain secret because it was a voice vote, not a recorded vote.
The rule was approved in a meeting overseen by Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, who represents an upper-income GOP district in New Jersey. He has a D+ rating from the pro-American reform group, NumbersUSA. After the vote, Frelinghuysen applauded the process, saying:
Our financial system thrives on stability, and this bill provides the funding necessary for federal regulators to do their jobs in a timely and appropriate manner, while stopping burdensome regulations before they can damage our economy irreparably.
Frelinghuysen’s staffer did not respond to Breitbart News.
The rule was inserted into a portion of the appropriations bill overseen by subcommittee chairman Graves, who initially applauded the far-reaching bill. Amid a public uproar, Graves announced via Twitter that:
FAKE NEWS! I spoke against this amendment, voted against it & urged other members to vote against it. Working get it removed on House Floor. https://t.co/0M7qRpWWEm
— Tom Graves (@RepTomGraves) July 14, 2017
Graves has a B+ rating from NumbersUSA.
“What we’re focused on is getting [the jobs-for-illegals language] ripped out,” a staffer on the appropriations committee said.
The plan is to have the House Committee on Rules declare that the jobs-for-illegals amendment is possibly improper, or out of order. That decision would allow a legislator to request during floor debate in the House of Representatives that the amendment be clipped from the bill. If a majority of the House votes the amendment is improper, it will be stripped from the bill.
“We feel confident that we will be able to strip it out,” the aide said.
However, in recent weeks, a handful of liberal Republicans have joined with lockstep Democrats to defeat several important mainstream proposals about Pentagon transgender policies and counter-jihad policy. The liberal Republicans can vote with Democrats when they are not under pressure from the GOP leadership.
But if the amendment survives the floor vote in the House, it also may be removed during a conference debate between House and Senate legislators.
The jobs-for-illegals plan was proposed by a California Democrat, Rep. Pete Aguilar, who represents a mostly Hispanic district around San Bernardino.
Dreamers should be allowed to serve their communities and country. Glad to announce my amendment to fix this problem was adopted. https://t.co/0lxVw2ECvn
— Rep. Pete Aguilar (@RepPeteAguilar) July 14, 2017
Aguilar’s reference to “Dreamers” is not a reference to young Americans, but to the roughly 800,000 younger illegals who are already enrolled in the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” amnesty which was created in 2012 by former President Barack Obama. The number of illegals who get work permits and Social Security numbers via the DACA amnesty is expected to rise above 1.5 million unless the program is ended by judges or legislators.
The overall 2018 appropriations bill also includes some spending plans that will be applauded by conservatives, the House staffer said, adding:
The bill cuts spending by $1.284 billion, including a $149 million cut for the IRS. It also eliminates four non-essential programs, such as the Udall Foundation.
The bill includes provisions to stop the IRS from implementing an individual insurance mandate on the American people. The bill also includes a provision prohibiting government funds to pay for an abortion.
The bill changes the rule governing the semi-independent Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and increases federal oversight of several semi-independent agencies — including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The spending plan is scheduled to be merged with the Senate’s spending plan and then signed into late by October 1.
Read more about the bill here.
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