Thread: Labrador exiting House immigration group, Gang of 8

Labrador exiting House immigration group

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The latest hangup is over health care for undocumented immigrants, sources say. | AP Photos


By SEUNG MIN KIM | 6/5/13 3:22 PM EDT Updated: 6/5/13 8:03 PM EDT
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) — a key conservative who had been engaged in secret negotiations over immigration reform — said Wednesday that he will drop out of the so-called House Gang of Eight.
The problem, Labrador said, was an impasse over how the pending legislation would address the issue of health care for undocumented immigrants. That issue had recently emerged as a major sticking point between Democrats and Republicans, and the negotiations had teetered on the edge of collapse at least three times in the last several weeks before drawing closer to an agreement again.
But for Labrador, it was the final straw.

(PHOTOS: 9 wild immigration quotes)
“I am actually not going to be a member of the group anymore,” he told reporters Wednesday evening. “I’m just going to move on and work with other members of the House Judiciary Committee to try to craft legislation that can actually … pass the Judiciary Committee and pass the House.”
He added, “We just couldn’t agree on the health-care language and I think we’ve been going around in circles on the health-care language for a long time.”
The loss of Labrador to the group, which has been meeting off-and-on for four years, is a significant blow to bipartisan immigration reform efforts in the House. Like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Labrador is a Latino Republican with solid conservative credentials who could play an instrumental role in selling a comprehensive immigration reform effort to their party.
His bill that he will now begin drafting is expected to be more conservative than the bipartisan efforts of the House group. Labrador noted that he had made concessions in the legislation, but now he was free to write an immigration bill as he sees fit.
The lawmaker was a vocal critic of the health-care provisions during the immigration negotiations, insisting that those living in the United States should be providing their own coverage. He said he had submitted “simple, clear language” to fellow negotiators on health care, but those changes were not accepted.
“I believe in my opinion that unless you make them personally responsible for health insurance, that it’s the taxpayer that’s going to pay,” Labrador said Wednesday.
Despite Labrador’s exit, other negotiators in the House group left an early evening meeting still planning to move ahead with the talks. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) said that the group has “found a way to go forward.”
“This is a very complicated, complex issue but I’m very optimistic as to where we’re headed,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said. “I really am. I really, really am.”
Diaz-Balart said he doesn’t expect legislation to be released this week.
Democrats, too, were upbeat.
“My hope is we’re going to make an announcement pretty soon,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who told reporters that about “80 percent” of the bill has already been drafted and that the negotiators had long agreed on about “95 percent” of the immigration package.
Earlier Wednesday, several sources close to the negotiations disputed that the House discussions have failed, countering an ABC News report that said the eight lawmakers who were crafting a comprehensive reform bill were set to meet for the final time Wednesday without accomplishing their goal.
Other House immigration negotiators include Democratic Reps. Xavier Becerra and Zoe Lofgren of California, and John Yarmuth of Kentucky, and Republican Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/house-immigration-group-trouble-92282.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

NO AMNESTY

DON'T REWARD THE CRIMINAL ACTIONS OF MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

BY GIVING THEM CITIZENSHIP

That's the message I called in to my US Rep.

I also mentioned the tens of millions of unemployed or seriously underemployed U.S. citizens.

Labrador Leaves House Immigration Reform Group as Pelosi Demands Obamacare for Illegals

by Matthew Boyle 6 Jun 2013, 9:49 AM PDT
breitbart.com



Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) has officially left the House version of the “Gang of Eight" after Democrats--led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a House aide familiar with the discussions told Breitbart News--went back on a prior agreement-in-principle during the talks.

Originally, according to Labrador, the House group had agreed hat illegal immigrants would be required to cover their own health care costs and not have access to Obamacare. When the talks moved along, though, the Democrats went back on their promise and began insisting that illegal immigrants get access to government healthcare.

That prompted Labrador to abandon the group on Wednesday evening, as the left was not negotiating in good faith, he said. A House aide confirmed to Breitbart News that Pelosi--who was not a member of the House immigration group--was the leader of the charge in pushing health care for illegal immigrants, even though the Democrats in the group had originally agreed to the compromise.

“I have tremendous respect for the members of the bipartisan group who have been working with me to fix our broken immigration system,” Labrador said in a statement. “But after today’s meeting, the framework of the bill has changed in a way that I can no longer support. Like most Americans, I believe that health care is first and foremost a personal responsibility. While I will no longer be part of the bipartisan ‘Group of Eight’ House negotiators, I will not abandon my efforts to modernize our broken immigration system by securing our borders and creating a workable guest worker program. I remain hopeful that the House can pass a bill around these principles and I will keep fighting to make it happen.”

Pelosi's office has not returned a request for comment from Breitbart News for this story.

Labrador had been working with Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), John Carter (R-TX), Sam Johnson (R-TX), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and John Yarmuth (D-KY).

Labrador’s move comes on the heels of a report from Breitbart News that a high-ranking Senate aide said Rubio is searching for a way out of the Senate Gang of Eight.

“Rubio and his staff are trying to get out of the Gang of Eight,” the aide said. “They’re looking to use other Republican members as their parachute to get out.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...r-to-walk-away