Will Speaker Boehner Listen to These Voices of Reason?
As we get closer to a Republican shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, Members of the GOP conference are increasingly “sounding the alarms.” Add these Republicans to the list of Members who would join Democrats in acting responsibly to prevent a shutdown of DHS by voting for a clean bill:
“‘It's a good bill,’ said [Rep. John] Carter, the chairman of the panel that wrote the House Homeland Security funding measure.” [The Hill, 2/25/15]
“‘If a clean bill comes here, we have to accept a vote on it,’ said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who has been critical of his colleagues during previous funding showdowns. King suggested the GOP brand would suffer if the Homeland Security agency was shut down. ‘People think we’re crazy. There are terrorist attacks all over the world and we’re talking about closing down Homeland Security. This is like living in a world with crazy people,’ King said. King acknowledged, however, that his view is ‘probably not’ shared by the majority of his conference.” [The Hill, 2/25/15]
“I don’t see how it’s helpful for us to risk a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security,’ said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma. He said the recent court order to block the president’s immigration executive actions was a compelling reason for the GOP to feel comfortable advancing a rider-free spending bill at this point.” [Politico, 2/24/15]
“Centrist Republican Rep. Charlie Dent has emerged as his own party’s chief critic… Now he’s sounding the alarm on cable TV and in other media interviews that his own party — not the White House — will be to blame by voters if neither party caves over President Obama’s immigration executive actions and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shuts down at the end of the week…‘It’s important that we go about avoiding these types of cliffs or showdowns that, in my view, won’t end well for us Republicans,’ Dent told The Hill in a phone interview. ‘They will damage us as we move into a presidential year and damage our likely presidential nominees.’” [The Hill, 2/24/15]
“‘That’s not rocket science’ that those riders couldn’t survive beyond the House of Representatives, said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.,a longtime advocate of overhauling the nation’s immigration system who has opposed past GOP efforts to dismantle the White House’s so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.” [Politico, 2/24/15]
“Centrist Republicans have been sounding the alarm about a potential DHS shutdown, saying lawmakers must fund the agency and pay its employees amid numerous terror threats worldwide. And they’re publicly warning that the GOP — not Obama — will be blamed if Congress misses its deadline on Friday… ‘We should fund our Homeland Security Department,’ freshman Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.), who opposed the House’s initial move to link DHS funding to the immigration riders, said in an interview.” [The Hill, 2/24/15]
Unfortunately, House Republican leadership continues to ignore these voices of reason, placating their far-right Members of the GOP conference by refusing to bring a clean bill to the Floor:
“Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said ‘there’s no way on God’s green earth’ he would vote for a funding bill that didn’t defund Obama’s actions, which would shield millions from deportation.” [The Hill, 2/25/15]
“A group of House conservatives is privately mulling blocking the House's ability to vote on any clean DHS funding bill by opposing the rule—a move that would especially anger GOP leaders who view such rule votes as a basic test of party loyalty. Outside conservative groups, such as Heritage Action, have said they will consider a ‘Yea’ vote a black mark on members' legislative scorecards. And late Tuesday, several Republicans, led by Rep. Jeff Duncan, sent a letter to Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Majority Whip Steve Scalise urging them to continue to stand firm against what they call Obama's executive overreach.” [National Journal, 2/24/15]
With only three days left until DHS funding runs out, Speaker Boehner needs to decide whether he’ll allow responsible Republicans to join Democrats to pass a clean bill, or if he is going to let Republicans shut down DHS, putting our national security at risk and risking the political backlash of the American people. As we get closer and closer to a shutdown, our prediction is that calls for a clean bill among Members of his own party will only continue to grow.