Posted on 06/19/2013 1:27:16 PM PDT by jazusamo
Boehner: "I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that will violate the principles of our majority and divide our conference."
WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Menendez expressed displeasure Tuesday over House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to withhold consideration of any immigration reform measure that doesn’t have the support of the majority of the Republican caucus.
Menendez (D-N.J.), a member of the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group of upper-chamber lawmakers who have pieced together a delicate immigration compromise, questioned Boehner’s seriousness about addressing the issue “if he is willing to put tea party politics ahead of the will of the American people.”
“It is amazing and alarming that Speaker Boehner would allow a minority of House members – who will never, ever support immigration reform – to dictate the fate of bipartisan, comprehensive reform that an overwhelming majority of the American people want,” Menendez said.
The decision, Menendez said, is “not in our national interest and it’s certainly not about fixing our broken immigration system.”
Earlier Tuesday, Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters that he could not envision a scenario where he would permit debate over immigration reform if most members of the Republican majority in the House didn’t offer their support.
Boehner said the only time he will consider bringing an issue to the floor without the support of his caucus is “when there is zero leverage.” That has occurred during his tenure in the chair on occasion – most recently when the lower chamber voted on Hurricane Sandy relief – but only when “we faced a worse alternative, politically or in terms of policy.”
That is not the case in this instant, Boehner said, so he is obliged to implement what is popularly known as the Hastert rule, named after former House Speaker Denny Hastert, an Illinois Republican who took great pains to satisfy his caucus.
“We have plenty of leverage,” Boehner said. “And I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that will violate the principles of our majority and divide our conference. One of our principles is border security. I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that the people in this room do not believe secures our borders. It’s not going to happen.”
Boehner to this point has been coy about how he intended to address immigration reform, which is making its way through the Senate with a vote slated before July 4. But he has been under pressure from GOP lawmakers, particularly those with a conservative bent, to take a stand.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), appearing on World Net Daily radio, said earlier this week that Boehner should be ousted if he doesn’t adhere to the Hastert rule.
“I would consider that a betrayal of the Republican members of the House and a betrayal of the Republicans throughout the country,” Rohrabacher said. “If Boehner moves forward and permits this to come to a vote even though the majority of Republicans in the House — and that’s if they do — oppose what’s coming to a vote, he should be removed as speaker.”
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, said Tuesday that he told Menendez and other Democratic members of the Gang of Eight to concentrate on getting the measure through the Senate and not concern themselves with Boehner’s comments. Sooner or later, Reid said, the House will be forced to act.
“No matter what he has said, there’s going to be significant national pressure on the House to do something on immigration,” Reid said. “I’m only worried about what’s going to happen here and I’m not going to say how I really feel about it, OK?”
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday began a mark-up on what is called the SAFE Act, which provides local police the authority to arrest illegal immigrants and transfer them to federal custody and expands the number of detention facilities for those awaiting deportation. Other immigration bills are to follow.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has expressed a desire to consider individual pieces of immigration legislation rather than follow the Senate’s lead and work on a single comprehensive reform measure.
The Senate, meanwhile, is continuing debate on the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which creates a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants who entered or remained in the country without proper documentation.
Under the bill, illegal immigrants who have resided in the U.S. since Dec. 13, 2011, must seek provisional legal status that allows them to work but renders them ineligible for federal benefits. They must pay a penalty, taxes, and a processing fee and can only apply for permanent status after 10 years.
A new visa program for low-skilled workers would be developed and the Department of Homeland Security would be charged with coming up with a $4.5 billion plan to gain effective control of the porous Southern border with Mexico.
Hopefully Boehner's not blowing smoke on this.
We will see shortly if it’s smoke or not.
Truly how much courage does Boner have to muster not to bring something to the floor? Seriously. Most of the country does not want this.
Absolutely right...This should be a no brainer for Boehner.
“...compromise...”
Democrats said what they wanted, and Republicans compromised, caved, surrendered, accommodated, acquiesced, and rolled over.
What amazes me is that Menendez wants what I think a majority of the American People don't want.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Rubio (allegedly tea party) turned out to be the weak sister and Boehner (not really tea party) turned out to be the one with the balls?
Let’s flood Boehner’s office with calls backing him up on THIS statement. It can’t hurt.
Menendez should mind the business of his own body and not worry about the business of the other.
Menendez is Hispandering. (Hat Tip: Jon & Ken)
Yep, in my view Rubio is a weak sister but would sure like to see Boehner shoot the bill down.
Lock the border up tight for a year——then let’s talk Amnesty.
ALL Americans should be against this evil Anmnesty bill
The bill Will bring in 100 million more new immigrants from the 3rd world.
do you value your job , your income , your country, you stupid liberal/demerocrat voters? Obviously you don’t. you think these immigrants won’t take your job, MORONs = liberals
The current Amnesty bill must be stopped.call congress.
30 million illegals get Amnesty to vote in 2014 election
those 30 million can bring in 50 million more of their relatives still in the 3rd world.
30 million more illegals will invade to do the “under the table” jobs
untold millions will cross into the USA to get in on the
Amnesty bonanza.
if this bill passes the USA is done
these representatives in Congress are traitors against
Americans .
What do we do sit here and complain on the Internet when we should be protesting in the streets, outside of Congress as they prepare to give Amnesty to these immigrant creeps.protests, marches, no we sit here while they take our country away.
At least we should be calling Congressmen non stop, emailing , twitter ,paper letters( an effective method) etc.
I am writing something up to give these congressmen a piece of my mind
never Amnesty
Dream on....Boehner is just trying to cover his ass.
There's NO WAY Amnesty won't be Passed; it's all about posturing.
The Tea Party has been used for some time now as Talking Points for the State Run Media, to brand them as "Extremists", and some how make Tea Party the new "N" word to describe those who want the Country to go back to the day when the U.S. constitution was the Law of the Land; not Executive Orders, Special Interest/Constituency Segment vote buying with selective enforcement of Laws to appease them.
Habla Espanol? You better; they're gonna be all over us.....
You miss the point entirely.
If this Amnesty bill passes, what the vast majority of American People who are currently American Citizens want or don't want will no longer be factor in American politics because they will be rendered politically irrelevant in the new Democrat coalition made up of Political, Media, Cultural, Academic, Artistic,and Technical Elites making up the top of society and it's ruling elite.
The second part of the new coalition at the bottom of the system is made up of the masses of the new class of people totally dependent upon Government handouts.
This lower class is mostly made up of newly amnestied illegal immigrants, existing welfare state Entitlement/ EBT lay abouts and welfare queens and previous members of the middle class who have been demoted to the ranks of the underclass due to the economic destruction and of course the fraudsters who ride the welfare system
The productive Middle Class working people who pay into the systems and keep it afloat will be frozen out of the political decision making process because they will be out numbered and out voted by the new majority Entitlement Class that receives it's livelihood from the Elites at the top who control their lives in addition to funding those lives..
-—the bill Will bring in 100 million more new immigrants from the 3rd world.——
100 million ??? ....33 percent of the current total population ?
Not likely....but I get your point...
One more illegal is one too many...
Doesn’t Menendez have some under-age Dominican girls chained in his subbasement to occupy his attention? Why is he getting involved in the legislative process?
Like he gives a damn about what the real American people want. We sure don't want amnesty, not by a long shot.
He's referring to those he hopes to make American Dem voters by hook er crook.
This is all Kabuki.
If you don’t know Spanish you need to learn.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.