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politics and politicians Title: Brat: 'Not one thin dime' for Obama's immigration plan CULPEPER, Va. — The 7th District's newly elected Congressman vowed via Twitter Thursday night that he supports, "Not one thin dime," to fund the proposed actions outlined by President Barack Obama to deal with the broken immigration system. "I support using the power of the purse to defund Obama's amnesty," tweeted Rep. Dave Brat, R-Richmond, the economist, replacing Eric Cantor, who recently took office in Washington. Virginia Democrats, meanwhile, applauded the president's efforts attempting to bring some five million undocumented residents "out of the shadows." In a speech Thursday evening, Obama unveiled sweeping executive actions to: 1) deploy more resources to the border; 2) focus on deporting undocumented immigrants who recently crossed the border and undocumented felons and 3) require undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who've been in the U.S. for at least five years to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in America without fear of deportation, according to the White House Web site. The president said, "Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger - we we were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants." The Republican push-back to the president's plan was fierce and immediate. Brat said he would not vote to fund a program "that subverts the law or encourages tens of thousands more people to risk their lives illegally crossing our border." He said the U.S. House should "use its power of the purse" to defund in the current budget bill "Obama's illegal executive action." "We must fund the rest of government with a short-term bill while, in a separate bill, defund the appropriations for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services programs that the president intends to use to carry out this act," Brat said. The newly elected 7th District representative called the presidential action an "attempt to give amnesty to five million illegal aliens," saying it was unfair to others "waiting in line to become citizens the right way." Brat said the president's actions would encourage more children to attempt to illegally enter the U.S. "In addition, crony insiders will now get the amnesty they lobbied for to provide a cheap supply of labor while millions of Americans remain unemployed," he said. A statement Thursday from the House Appropriations Committee indicated that Congress could not use the budget appropriations process to cut funding for the president's proposed actions through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Brat acknowledged that the agency is self-funded through immigration application fees, but that the appropriations committee voted in August to determine how teh agency spends those fees. The committee said in its statement Thursday that the immigration services agency could continue to collect its fees, operate and expand operations under the president's new executive order "without needing legislative approval by the Appropriations Committee or the Congress, even under a continuing resolution or a government shutdown." At the local, state and federal level, Democrats rallied behind the president's initiative, including Mike McClary, treasurer of the Culpeper County Democratic Committee. "While watching the president's speech last night, I couldn't help thinking about the millions of immigrants for whom this will offer hope instead of despair that their families would be torn apart," he said. "I'm sure there are hundreds right here in Culpeper to whom this applies. We should endeavor to take care of all our families here in our community." McClary said he felt the president was forceful and determined in his action, and could have gone further, but that Obama truly wants to work with Congress to solve the immigration problem. "Unfortunately, the House of Representatives has refused to take up the bipartisan Senate bill for over 500 days. If Speaker (John) Boehner wants to override the president's action, all the has to do is call for a vote tomorrow and the presdient's plan goes by the wayside," McClary said. "It would make a lot more sense than all the posturing and politicking that has gone on before. Any other action indicates to me that the Republicans have a darker, more sinister plan for the days ahead." U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said Thursday night that he supported Obama's decision to take action within his executive authority to address some of the immigration problems outlined in the senate bill Kaine supported. Those include border security improvements, visa system updates, and relief for families "who live in the shadows but want to play by the rules by paying taxes and submitting to criminal background checks," said the senator. Kaine added, "Every president since Eisenhower has taken executive action to address immigration issues. Still, this is only the first step. Many issues remain that can only be fixed by congressional action." H e said he looked forward to working with his colleagues in the House and Senate to get it done.
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#1. To: out damned spot (#0)
Translation: If Speaker (John) Boehner wants to override the president's action, all the has to do is
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