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 At a closed meeting of House Republicans to plot strategy on how
to handle a must-pass government spending bill, Republicans said
Boehner argued for funding most of the government through next
September but only giving a short-term extension to the Department
of Homeland Security, the agency that would implement Obama's
executive orders.
That would allow Republicans to revisit efforts to block Obama's
immigration action by placing spending restrictions on DHS
activities early next year, while avoiding an immediate standoff
that could close federal agencies when current government spending
authority expires on Dec. 11.
But after the meeting, several Republicans said they were skeptical
of Boehner's plan and unwilling to remove the shutdown threat from
budget negotiations.
"I don't think anything is off the table. I don't think anybody is
thinking about a shutdown, but in negotiations, you never take
anything off the table," said Representative Raul Labrador, a
leading House conservative.
Many conservatives want to use the spending bill to deny money for
Obama's unilateral action lifting the threat of deportation for as
many as 4.7 million of the estimated 11 million undocumented
immigrants.
The political stakes are high for Republicans. After broad wins in
Nov. 4 elections that will give them a majority in the Senate and a
bigger majority in the House next year, Boehner and other Republican
leaders want to demonstrate they can govern and avoid a shutdown
fight.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama would prefer to see
the spending bill cover the entire government for a full year but
declined to say if Obama would veto a bill with shorter funding for
DHS.
Republicans also said Boehner floated a plan to hold a separate vote
on a resolution saying the president does not have the authority to
take the executive action on immigration. That vote would be
symbolic, however, as it would not likely pass the
Democratic-controlled Senate.
Boehner said after the meeting that no decisions had been made and
consultations would continue with Republicans in the House and
Senate.
"I think they understand that it's going to be difficult to take
meaningful action as long as we've got Democratic control of the
Senate," Boehner said.
"Frankly, we have limited options, limited ability to deal with it
directly," he said of possible responses to Obama's immigration
order.
Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid told reporters the Senate would
"take a look" at a House-passed spending bill that included a
short-term extension for Homeland Security.
"That would be a big accomplishment if we could get a bill over here
that would fund all the appropriations sub-committees except one,"
he said.
Representative Peter Roskam of Illinois said Boehner's proposal was
well received, and he did not think the conservative effort to
delete funding for the immigration order in the must-pass bill would
get much traction.
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But Republican Representative Steve King of Iowa, a leading
conservative in the fight against the immigration order, said the
short-term extension for DHS should cut off any funding for Obama's
action even if it leads to a shutdown.
"It isn’t us bringing about a shutdown. We fund everything else, and
then the president has to argue that he’s going to shut down the
government in order for him to carry out his lawless,
unconstitutional act," King said.
While some Republicans favor easing immigration laws and hope to
bolster Hispanic support for the party, many others are opposed,
citing a perceived burden on U.S. society. What unifies Republicans
is a belief that Obama’s executive orders overstep his legal
authority and serve as a form of amnesty for law breakers.
Republican Representative Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, another prominent
conservative, said a short-term extension of DHS that lasted through
March was "not good enough" because it would allow the
administration to begin implementing Obama's action.
He said Boehner told the meeting the exact length of the DHS
extension was still being discussed with the Senate.
U.S. Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson told a congressional
hearing he would not be able to hire Secret Service agents and
detention center personnel the department needs with only a
short-term funding bill.
"I'm urging that we act on our current appropriations request for
the sake of border security and homeland security," Johnson told the
Homeland Security Committee.
At a tense hearing, Johnson defended the president's plan against
Republicans who said it would encourage even more crossings at the
southern U.S. border. Congresswoman Candice Miller of Michigan
warned the administration would be sued over the action.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Julia Edwards; Writing by
John Whitesides; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool and Ken
Wills)
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