House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), along with 169 other House Republicans, sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last week urging him to stop obstructing debate on the Department of Homeland Security spending bill that would also block the funding of President Obama's executive amnesties. In the letter, they charged that Senate Democrats are choosing to defend President Obama's unconstitutional actions by not even allowing debate of the bill.
“Why are they so afraid to debate this bill," Rep. Goodlatte wrote. "Senate Democrats would rather stifle free speech on the Senate floor than debate a bill they know is supported by the American people.”
The letter also notes that, in not allowing the bill to move forward, Sen. Reid is shielding Senate Democrats, many of whom have publicly opposed the president's move to unilaterally grant amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal aliens, "from voting on the substance of the House-passed bill."
The letter reads as follows:
Dear Minority Leader Reid,
We write to express our strong concern that Senate Democrats are blocking debate on a critical bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security’s operations for Fiscal Year 2015 and defund unconstitutional programs created unilaterally by President Obama.
Three times, you and other members of your caucus have prevented even a debate of the House-passed Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. While we understand that you and many of your Democrat colleagues are opposed to the provisions in the House-passed bill that would defund President Obama’s effective rewriting of our immigration laws, you should at least support debating the merits of such an important funding bill and offer amendments to the provisions you wish to change.
However, you have repeatedly obstructed even debating this bill in order to protect President Obama’s unconstitutional acts and shield Senators of your party – many of whom have publicly stated that they oppose the President’s unilateral actions – from voting on the substance of the House-passed bill. It is utterly appalling that you and other Senate Democrats believe that protecting the President’s unconstitutional actions is more important than funding a Department tasked with keeping Americans safe.
By preventing the Senate from taking up the House-passed bill, you are also denying the American people a fair debate on this issue. And a fair debate is what the American people want – they fundamentally disagree with President Obama’s actions and believe that he has unlawfully acted alone. For example, a Washington Post/ABC News poll last month found that 57% of registered voters believe that President Obama’s grant of deferred action should be blocked.
President Obama’s actions are tilting the scales of our government in the executive’s favor, threatening to unravel our system of checks and balances and imperiling all our liberties. The House of Representatives has acted decisively to defend the Constitution from this clear and present danger by voting to defund the president’s executive actions. For the sake of our nation, our two bodies must stand together on a bipartisan basis. But in order to do this, the Senate Democrat caucus must cease to play politics with the Constitution. You must end your filibuster of the House-passed bill and allow it to proceed to the floor for consideration. History will record our actions and how we honor the trust placed in all of us by the American people.
(A list of signees is below.)
The Senate has voted, unsuccessfully, three times to begin debate of the bill after the House passed its version on January 14. Current DHS funding is set to expire on February 27, but most DHS employees, deemed as essential workers, would still be required to work.
The signed letter can be found here
Bob Goodlatte (VA-06)
Luke Messer (IN-06)
Ann Wagner (MO-02)
Blake Farenthold (TX-27)
Tom Rice (SC-07)
Kevin Yoder (KS-03)
Andy Harris (MD-01)
Mike Bishop (MI-08)
Ken Calvert (CA-42)
Scott Garrett (NJ-05)
Doug Collins (GA-09)
Robert Wittman (VA-01)
Lamar Smith (TX-21)
Mark Amodei (NV-02)
Steve Chabot (OH-01)
Todd Young (IN-09)
J. Randy Forbes (VA-04)
Renee Ellmers (NC-02)
Trent Franks (AZ-08)
Cresent Hardy (NV-04)
Richard Nugent (FL-11)
Bill Posey (FL-08)
Brett Guthrie (KY-02)
Greg Harper (MS-03)
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (GA-01)
Thomas MacArthur (NJ-03)
Jason Smith (MO-08)
John Shimkus (IL-05)
Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03)
Mo Brooks (AL-05)
Steve King (IA-04)
Cathy McMorris Rogers (WA-05)
Daniel Webster (FL-10)
John Mica (FL-07)
Darrell Issa (CA-49)
Tim Huelskamp (KS-01)
Brad Wenstrup (OH-02)
Tom Emmer (MN-06)
Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03)
Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01)
Marsha Blackburn (TN-07)
Markwayne Mullin (OK-02)
David Joyce (OH-14)
David Young (IA-03)
Fred Upton (MI-06)
Tom McClintock (CA-04)
Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
Marlin Stuzman (IN-03)
Peter King (NY-02)
Joe Pitts (PA-16)
Pete Sessions (TX-32)
Bruce Poliquin (ME-02)
Jim Jordan (OH- 04)
Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-05)
Dan Benishek (MI-01)
Morgan Griffith (VA-09)
Daniel Webster (FL-10)
Roger Williams (TX-25)
Tom Graves (GA-14)
Dave Reichert (WA-08)
George Holding (NC-13)
Mark Meadows (NC-11)
Patrick McHenry (NC-10)
Don Young (AK at large)
Susan Brooks (IN-05)
Tom Marino (PA-10)
John Ratcliffe (TX-04)
Ryan Costello (PA-06)
Mike Kelly (PA-03)
Robert Dold (IL-10)
Robert Hurt (VA-05)
Barbara Comstock (VA-10)
John Culberson (TX-07)
John Carter (TX-31)
Sam Johnson (TX-03)
Kay Granger (TX-12)
Ted Poe (TX-02)
Bill Flores (TX-19)
Richard Hudson (NC-08)
Randy Neugebauer (TX-19)
Brian Babin (TX-31)
Randy Weber (TX-14)
Candace Miller (MI-10)
Pat Tiberi (OH-12)
David Brat (VA-07)
Robert Latta (OH-05)
Vicky Hartzler (MO-04)
Bill Shuster (PA-09)
Keith Rothfus (PA-12)
Ed Whitfield (KY-01)
Tim Murphy (PA-18)
Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02)
Larry Bucshon (IN-08)
Ander Crenshaw (FL-04)
John Duncan, Jr. (TN-02)
Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-08)
Jeff Miller (FL-01)
Dennis Ross (FL-15)
Joe Wilson (SC-02)
Rick Allen (GA-12)
David Jolly (FL-13)
Gary Palmer (AL-06)
Joe Barton (TX-06)
Bob Gibbs (OH-07)
Michael Burgess (TX-26)
Frank Guinta (NH-01)
Rob Woodall (GA-07)
Greg Walden (OR-02)
Jeff Duncan (SC-03)
Michael Conaway (TX-11)
Bradley Byrne (AL-01)
David Rouzer (NC-07)
Todd Rokita (IN-04)
Mark Walker (NC-06)
Rodney Davis (IL-13)
Steve Stivers (OH-15)
Paul Gosar (AZ-04)
Jeb Hensarling (TX-05)
John Kline (MN-02)
Glenn Thompson (PA-05)
Steven Palazzo (MS-04)
Scott Tipton (CO-03)
Michael McCaul (TX-10)
Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (LA-03)
Kevin Brady (TX-08)
Thomas Massie (KY-04)
Peter Roskam (IL-06)
Alex Mooney (WV-02)
Tom Price (GA-06)
Evan Jenkins (WV-03)
Matt Salmon (AZ-05)
Mimi Walters (CA-45)
Stephen Knight (CA-25)
Mark Sanford (SC-01)
Gus Bilirakis (FL-12)
Curt Clawson (FL-19)
Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48)
Trey Gowdy (SC-04)
David Roe (TN-01)
Raul Labrador (ID-01)
Doug LaMalfa (CA-09)
Pete Olson (TX-22)
Rick Crawford ( (AR-01)
Andy Barr (KY-06)
Kevin Cramer (ND at large)
Ryan Zinke (MT at large)
Lou Barletta (PA-11)
Jim Bridenstine (OK-01)
Curt Clawson (FL-19)
Ron DeSantis (FL-06)
Ted Yoho (FL-03)
Ken Buck (CO-04)
Jody Hice (GA-10)
Cynthia Lummis (WY at large)
John Fleming (LA-04)
Walter B. Jones (NC-03)
Aaron Schock (IL-18)
Charles W. Dent (PA-15)
Stephen Lee Fincher (TN-08)
Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
Martha Roby (AL-02)
Barry LouderMilk (GA-11)
Robert Pittenger (NC-09)
Robert Hurt (VA-05)
Mike Bost (IL-12)
Reid Ribble (WI-08)
Paul Cook (CA-08)
Sean Duffy (WI-07)
Steve Womack (AR-03)
