By Donald H. Harrison
By a 236-191 margin, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday, Jan. 14, to overturn President Barack Obama’s executive order providing relief from deportation for immigrants whose children were born in the United States.. The measure, tacked onto the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, also removed protections from deportation for non-citizens who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday. President Obama has said he will veto the action, should the Senate pass the measure and send it to his desk.
Eighteen Jewish House members, all Democrats, voted against the measure while the lone Jewish Republican, Lee Zeldin, voted in favor. Explaining why he favored the immigration amendments, Zeldin cited constitutional grounds:
“I strongly support legal immigration,” wrote Zeldin in a statement. ”We live in a great nation of immigrants. I also have great respect for the office of President of the United States. He is the highest ranking executive in our nation, and arguably, the most powerful person in the world. One thing the President is not is also the legislature. In Federalist #47, President James Madison stated, ‘The magistrate in whom the whole executive power resides cannot of himself make a law’. The Federalist Papers are often referenced when determining the intent of our founding fathers when they were drafting our Constitution. Madison referenced Montesquieu in Federalist #47 as it was he who wrote historically significant political doctrine with regards to separation of powers and the need for a constitutional government with three separate branches of government with checks and balances. Our Constitution itself is clear that the President of the United States is not also Congress, nor should he ever attempt to act as both.During this term, I am confident that the House of Representatives will pass legislation that will strengthen our immigration system. It is our duty to do so and I know that many of my new colleagues are up to the task.”
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The Jewish Citizen
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Prior to the vote, Rep. Steve Israel (D-New York) tried to get an amendment passed stripping the Republican-backed clauses on immigration from the $39.67 billion Homeland Security funding bill. “This bill (with the Republican amendments) is not about homeland security, this bill is about Republican political security,” he said. “Do the right thing, my colleagues, and vote for this motion to recommit and take the politics, the ugly politics out of keeping the American people safe.” That amendment was defeated 184-244.
Explaining her opposition to the Republican bill, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Florida) said: “My mom and dad taught me that family comes first. Sadly, this is mean spirited legislation that separates children from their parents and turns the dreams of talented young people into nightmares. I am hopeful that we can work together to find a bi-partisan approach to immigration reform that better reflects our values and advances America’s prosperity.”
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) said: “Today House Republicans confirmed they lack the ability to responsibly govern. Rather than passing a bill to protect our homeland security, they are playing politics with our safety. House Republicans are holding our national security hostage to their desires to deport dreamers and other aspiring Americans. At a time when we should be passing a clean Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, Republicans are once again manufacturing a crisis. Instead of protecting our homeland, Republicans have voted to deport millions of aspiring Americans who have registered, undergone background checks, and paid fees in order to get in line with the law. America deserves better than Republican leaders who lack the desire or ability to stand up to the most extreme factions of their party and put out national security at risk.”
Said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois): “The question on everyone’s mind at this very moment is: Are we doing everything we can to prevent a Paris-like terrorist attack here in the United States? Americans would be right to expect the Republican majority to promptly, finally and adequately fund the Department of Homeland Security after they already delayed funding once by making it a political football on immigration. But no – it seems the Republicans couldn’t help themselves even when it comes to national security. They couldn’t simply present a bill that provides the necessary funding to keep the American people safe, which would have had bi-partisan support.”
House of Representatives
VETERANS – U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennesse) on Wednesday, Jan. 14 introduced the Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act “to help reduce veteran unemployment and train our nation’s heroes for the good-paying, high-demand jobs being created by innovative American small businesses.” The legislation would reauthorize the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), which helps train unemployed veterans for careers in high-demand occupations, through 2018. “Our nation’s veterans put their lives on the line to secure our freedom and our safety,” said Cohen. “We must do all that we can to repay their sacrifices and help them get back on their feet when they return home.”
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METHANE – U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-California) has complimented President Obama’s updated strategy to reduce methane emissions as “a big step forward in both curbing greenhouse gas emissions and providing a fair return to the American taxpayer. Updated standards for oil and gas wells on public lands could drastically reduce venting and flaring of natural gas—wasteful procedures that squander this valuable resource and costs American taxpayers millions of dollars each year in lost revenue. This wasted resource should be used to heat our homes and not our planet. I am currently working on legislation to provide the administration with additional tools to combat these wasteful and costly procedures.” … U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) said: “Capturing fugitive methane emissions needs to be a key component of our national strategy to clean up our air and combat climate change. Colorado was the first state in the country to crack down on this pollution, and it did so with support from both the industry and the environmental community. The Administration should follow Colorado’s lead by working with all parties to craft rules that significantly reduce fugitive methane emissions, while also providing the necessary flexibility and assurances for the regulated community.”
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INTELLLIGENCE – U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) has been named by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi as the new Ranking Member, or top Democrat, of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). The Committee oversees the activities of the Intelligence Community. “I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me by Leader Pelosi and the Democratic Caucus,” said Schiff. “The Committee has one of the most important and difficult tasks in the Congress – keeping our country safe and overseeing the many agencies within the Intelligence Community. As the tragic events (in Paris) make clear, the work of our intelligence agencies and our relationships with allies will continue to be of unsurpassed importance in protecting our nation and values. There will be no shortage of issues to come before Congress in this session, from addressing new threats of terrorism at home and around the world, to reforming our surveillance capabilities and oversight, as well as securing and reinforcing our nation’s cybersecurity.”
U.S. Senate
PARIS TERROR– Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) and a bipartisan group of senators have introduced a resolution condemning the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. “The United States stands in solemn solidarity with our friends and allies in France and condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attacks that took place in and around Paris. Our resolution honors the lives of those lost and reaffirms the Senate’s outrage against the atrocities and violence we witnessed last week. Now is the time for the international community to come together against acts of terror and support our allies as they bring the perpetrators of such violence to justice,” said the senators.
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FEDERAL WORKERS– U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Maryland and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) have introduced legislation to provide a 3.8 percent pay raise to federal workers in calendar year 2016. Federal employees have lost over a billion dollars in salary and benefits due to sequestration and a three-year pay freeze from January 2011 to December 2013. “We have continued to place an increasing burden on federal workers, who now represent the lowest percentage of the total American workforce in the three-quarters of a century that reliable records have been kept,” said Senator Cardin. “The knowledge, expertise, skill and commitment of our public sector workforce are some of this country’s greatest assets. No other nation can match our public workforce’s professionalism and level of accomplishment. Yet all too often, public servants are disparaged, denigrated and forced to bear the brunt of deficit reduction. We need to strengthen and encourage our public workforce.” Schatz said: “Hawai‘i’s federal employees are some of the hardest working public servants in the country. In recent years, our federal workers have endured pay freezes, furloughs, and a government shutdown. Our bill recognizes the service of working families and gives them a well-deserved raise.”
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INTELLIGENCE HACKING — “Declassified versions of the two CIA reports publicly released today conclude that CIA personnel improperly accessed Senate Intelligence Committee computer networks,” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) announced. “Let me be clear: I continue to believe CIA’s actions constituted a violation of the constitutional separation of powers and unfortunately led to the CIA’s referral of unsubstantiated criminal charges to the Justice Department against committee staff. I’m thankful that Director Brennan has apologized for these actions, but I’m disappointed that no one at the CIA will be held accountable. The decision was made to search committee computers, and someone should be found responsible for those actions.” … Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) said: “Both the CIA Inspector General and the review board appointed by Director Brennan have now concluded that the CIA’s unauthorized search of Senate files was improper. It is incredible that no one at the CIA has been held accountable for this very clear violation of Constitutional principles. Director Brennan either needs to reprimand the individuals involved or take responsibility himself. So far he has done neither. This episode further illustrates the cumulative corrosive effects of the CIA’s torture program. First, agency officers and contractors went far beyond the limits set out even in the Justice Department’s torture memos. Then, top officials spent a decade making inaccurate statements about torture’s effectiveness to Congress, the White House and the American people. Next, instead of acknowledging these years of misrepresentations, the CIA’s current leadership decided to double down on denial. And when CIA officials were worried that the Intelligence Committee had found a document that contradicted their claims, they secretly searched Senate computer files to find out if Senate investigators had obtained it. At a time when the CIA appears incapable of policing itself, the intelligence community needs more external oversight, not less.”
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INCOME TAXES– Democratic U.S. Senators Al Franken of Minnesota, Barbara Boxer of California, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut as well as Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are among a group of 16 senators have introduced legislation that Franken said “would ensure that millionaires and billionaires pay at least a 30 percent effective fedral tax rate.” he added that thiis legislation is called the “Buffet Rule” in response to billionaire investor Warren Buffet announcing that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary.
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Items in this report dealing with Jewish women in Congress are sponsored by Laura Galinson in memory of her father, Murray Galinson.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. Your comment on any of these items may be posted in the space provided below or sent directly to the author at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com