U.S.
Senate Democrats cut $1 billion from Obama border request
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[July 23, 2014]
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate
Democrats on Tuesday proposed cutting $1 billion from President Barack
Obama's $3.7 billion emergency funding request to deal with a surge of
some 57,000 undocumented Central American children across the southern
border.
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Obama on July 8 asked lawmakers to approve $3.7 billion to bolster
border security and speed deportation proceedings, but Congress has
yet to take action on the request. At a luncheon on Tuesday, Senate
Democrats discussed what their response should be.
"Based on a review of what is needed...to meet needs at the border,
the bill reduces the president’s request by $1 billion," said Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski.
Besides border funding, the Senate Democrats' bill also includes
$615 million for fighting wildfires and $225 million to help Israel
speed up work on an anti-missile defense system.
It was unclear if these provisions will help get Republican votes
for the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, told reporters he
hoped Congress would take action on the emergency funding before it
starts its August recess in about 10 days. "These agencies are going
to run out of money in mid-August," Reid said.
Many Republicans in both houses of Congress say they are unlikely to
approve emergency funding without changes to a 2008 human
anti-trafficking law. They want federal authorities to be able to
more easily deport children who enter the United States illegally
from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
But many congressional Democrats are balking, saying they do not
want to speed deportation of children escaping violence in their own
countries. Many of the children are trying to reunite with relatives
living in the United States.
No change to the anti-trafficking law will be included in the Senate
bill, Mikulski said.
Reid said he thought the 2008 law did not need to be changed because
the president had "sufficient leeway" under it now.
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Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas told reporters that just
approving more money without making changes in the 2008 law was "no
solution to the problem."
He said the other fundamental cause of the border problem was an
impression abroad that "if you can make it to the United States,
you'll be able to stay," an impression he said was fueled by Obama's
decision in 2012 to ease deportations of some children brought to
the United States illegaly by their parents before mid-2007.
In the Republican-run House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner
said last week he was unsure lawmakers could agree on their response
to Obama's request for help with the border crisis this month. He
said on Tuesday that a Republican working group on border issues had
finished its work and would present recommendations to the
Republican caucus this week.
The Obama administration has been struggling to gain control of the
influx of newcomers, which is overwhelming immigration resources and
leading to scattered protests from people angry at the government
for housing border crossers in their communities.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; editing by Gunna Dickson)
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