The House Rules Committee, along with House GOP Leaders, blocked Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have blocked illegal aliens from enlisting in the military. Instead, GOP Leaders are standing behind a compromise amendment added during the bill's markup between Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that would encourage the Secretary of Defense to enlist DACA recipients into the military.
Rep. Gosar's amendment would have restricted the enlistment of non-citizens to only aliens who are lawfully present in the United States, who entered the country legally, and whose enlistment would serve in the national interest.
After the Thornberry/Gallego compromise was approved by voice vote by the House Armed Services Committee last month, Rep. Gallego issued a press release titled "House Armed Services Committee Affirms Department of Defense Authority to Enlist DREAMers." The Gosar amendment would have stripped the Thornberry/Gallego compromise from the NDAA.
On Tuesday, Rep. Gosar urged the House Rules Committee to allow a floor vote on his amendment.
"It's time that we stop playing politics with the Defense Authorization and ensure that a provision meant to allow military readiness isn't hijacked in order to provide backdoor amnesty to DACA aliens. Sadly, open border advocates have once again put politics ahead of the needs of our men and women in uniform in attempting to enact President Obama's lawless immigration agenda. There is no labor shortage and we are in the midst of eliminating 160,000 uniformed personnel positions over a nine-year stretch. Given this fact, it is wrong for the Obama Administration to prioritize enlisting illegal immigrants over Americans and legal immigrants that want to serve our nation."
The Gosar amendment had 19 cosponsors, including Rep. Brian Babin, Rep. Lou Barletta, Rep. Dave Brat, Rep. Jim Bridenstine, Rep. Mo Brooks, Rep. Scott DesJarlais, Rep. John Fleming, Rep. Garret Graves, Rep. Glenn Grothman, Rep. Andy Harris, Rep. Walter Jones, Rep. Steve King, Rep. Tom McClintock, Rep. Pete Olson, Rep. Steve Palazzo, Rep. Gary Palmer, Rep. Lamar Smith, Rep. Randy Weber and Rep. Ted Yoho.
The GOP Members of the House Rules Committee who killed the Gosar amendment include:
- Rep. Pete Sessions (TX-32)
- Rep. Virginia Foxx (VA-05)
- Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04)
- Rep. Rob Woodall (GA-07)
- Rep. Michael Burgess (TX-26)
- Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15)
- Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09)
- Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01)
- Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04)
The House GOP Leaders who typically direct the Rules Committee's actions include:
- Speaker Paul Ryan (WI-01)
- Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)
- Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01)
- Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05)
For more on this story, see The Hill.
