GOP Senators Angry
Over House DHS Funding Fight
Saturday, 28 Feb 2015 11:45 AM
By Sandy Fitzgerald
The ongoing House battle over funding the Department of
Homeland Security is angering Republican senators, who say it's time to move on
to other issues on the legislative calendar.
"I just think we ought to move on to other
things," said Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, according
to The Hill. "I'm not sure how it helps for the American people to have
the perception that Republicans in the Senate and Republicans in the House are
at odds with each other. We have a lot of initiatives I think we could show the
American people we can work together on."
Senators are pointing out that it's time to move away from
the battle and focus on other vital issues, including trade legislation,
regulatory and tax reform, and the budget.
However, the ongoing fight, being waged in an effort to
block President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, has brought the
other issues to a virtual halt, with the threat of the Homeland Security
department facing a shutdown pushing back on other GOP agenda items.
Late Friday,
Congress
passed a one-week stopgap bill in an effort to avert the shutdown,
with leaders in both parties pushing back against House conservatives who were
angry that the budget measure left Obama's plan alone.
The temporary funding measure was passed by a bipartisan vote of 357-60 in the
House just a little past an hour after the also-Republican-controlled Senate
approved the Homeland Security funding measure without even the need for a roll
call vote.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans say it's time to move on from the battle over
Obama's executive action, after a federal court ruling in Texas that declared
it violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The Obama administration is
fighting the ruling, but Senate Republicans believe the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals will uphold the lower court's decision.
"Why don’t we just look at the court decision in Texas, declare victory
and move on?" said Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.
And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., agreed that "when the judge ruled, that
was the way I wanted to end it."
But House conservatives are holding out for a bicameral conference to allow the
House and Senate to decide on a compromise that would keep funding Homeland
Security while repealing some of Obama's executive order.
However, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid ruled that out on Thursday, and
many Senate Republicans call those hopes misguided.
"What's frustrating is that the House guys think any of
the Democrats over here are under pressure to vote or cloture. They're in their
own little bubble, it's myopic," said a Senate Republican, who spoke to
The Hill permitted on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has
already tried four times to start debate on a House DHS funding bill that
included the disputed immigration riders, but Democrats would only allow
legislation to move forward when McConnell replaced it with a clean funding
bill.
McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, have not been in
close communication, The Hill reports, with Boehner saying on Wednesday that he
and McConnell have not spoken in two weeks.
Senate Republicans who are up against tough reelection battles in 2016 have
also been pressing the House to accept the clean funding bill, which would
extend DHS funding through September.
"I think the feeling of most people is this is the
fight that we should have not fought," said vulnerable Republican
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk. "We really, as a governing party, we've got to
fund DHS and say to the House, 'Here’s a straw so you can suck it up.'"
Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole noted that the battle isn't just
between political parties, but also the House and Senate.
"I think the decisive arena is the courts," he said. "I think
this is about holding our own ground and it's also a message to the
Senate."
That message is that "you really do have to vote on things and you really
do have to go to conference," Cole said. "You’re not going to just
drop something on us the last day and run out of town."
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain
John S. McCain III
is an
AZ congressional delegation
senator, married to
Cindy Hensley McCain,
and his daughter is
Meghan McCain.
ONE
Campaign is a partner with the
International
Rescue Committee.
Sheryl K.
Sandberg is a director at the
ONE
Campaign, and was a trustee at the
Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the
International Rescue Committee, the
Brookings Institution (think tank), and the
Committee for Economic Development.
George Soros
was the chairman for the
Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Steven L. Rattner
was a trustee at the
Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a director at the
IAC/InterActiveCorp.
Alan
G. Spoon was a trustee at the
Committee
for Economic Development, and is a director at the
IAC/InterActiveCorp.
Meghan
McCain is a columnist for the
Daily
Beast, and Senator
John S. McCain
III’s daughter.
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Saturday, February 28, 2015
