House Appropriations Committee Rejects Border Security, E-Ve
During a markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 supplemental spending bill, the House Appropriations Committee last Thursday rejected two amendments that sought to enhance border security and protect American jobs. The first amendment, offered by Homeland Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Hal Rogers (R-KY), contained several provisions aimed at strengthening the integrity of the U.S.-Mexico border. Additionally, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) offered an amendment that would prevent jobs created by the supplemental from being taken by illegal aliens. (Congressional Quarterly Committee Coverage, May 7, 2009).
Rogers' amendment sought to redirect $200 million of the bill's spending to fund Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs aimed at securing the U.S.-Mexico border. The amendment included $15 million for detention efforts; $5 million for the U.S. Marshals Service; $75 million for interagency crime and drug enforcement; $5 million for courts and judicial services; $27.2 million for Customs and Border Protection; $52.8 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; $10 million for the Coast Guard; and $10 million for Federal Emergency Management Agency state and local programs.
The amendment would have shifted funding from certain international programs for which the Obama Administration did not request funding, and some of which the Committee's ranking member Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) criticized as "excessive and poorly justified" to domestic law enforcement. (Government Executive, May 8, 2009). Following the vote on the amendment, which was supported by 22 Republicans but opposed by 35 Democrats, Rep. Rogers said: "How, in all good conscience, can we provide increases in foreign assistance — increases that were not requested by the White House — by some $3 billion and, yet, neglect the needs of the domestic law enforcement and border security agencies that are confronting the treacherous drug war on our doorstep? This amendment would have shifted resources from foreign countries and invested in our own security and rule of law right here at home at a time when communities from Atlanta to San Diego are dealing with the spillover affects [sic] of this violent drug trade." (Rogers Press Release, May 7, 2009 and CQ).
Kingston's amendment sought to require entities who receive contracts under the supplemental to enroll in E-Verify. The amendment was rejected by a voice vote (Id.) in spite of the fact that, earlier this year, this same committee approved — by a voice vote — a similar amendment that required any federal contractor that received federal funding from the stimulus bill to verify the employment eligibility of their workers through E-Verify. (FAIR's Legislative Update, January 26, 2009). This amendment was ultimately stripped from the bill. (FAIR's Legislative Update, February 17, 2009).
The Appropriations Committee's rejection of these amendments suggests that Congressional leaders are poised to cater to amnesty advocates behind the scenes, giving President Obama room to cater to enforcement supporters in public. For example, at a recent press conference, the President observed, "If the American people don't feel like you can secure the borders then it's hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows and on a pathway to citizenship who are already here, because the attitude of the average American is going to be, 'Well, you're just going to have hundreds of thousands of more coming in each year.'" (The Washington Times, May 8, 2009).
