4um: GOP-Led House Considers Bill Encouraging Illegal Immigrants to Serve in Military

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Title: GOP-Led House Considers Bill Encouraging Illegal Immigrants to Serve in Military
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://dailysignal.com/2015/05/13/g ... migrants-to-serve-in-military/
Published: May 14, 2015
Author: Kate Scanlon
Post Date: 2015-05-14 09:33:26 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 43
Comments: 5

The National Defense Authorization Act, currently making its way through the Republican-controlled U.S. House, includes language encouraging the secretary of defense to allow immigrants who are in the country illegally to serve in the military.
The provision asks Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to consider making those who were approved for deferred deportation under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program eligible for military service.
Poster Comment:
I understand the vote is today.
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GOP REPS SLAM ‘AMNESTY AMENDMENT’ ADDED TO NDAA
by CAROLINE MAY [Thursday] 30 Apr 2015

Wednesday the [House Armed Services Committee] approved an amendment to the NDAA offered by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) to encourage the Defense Secretary to consider allowing illegal immigrants [...] to serve in the military.
Thursday the committee passed the FY 2016 NDAA.
The NDAA overall passed out of committee on a vote of 60-2
“It’s appalling that some members of the Republican conference, and frankly all members of the Democratic conference, place illegal immigrants on pedestals over American citizens, contrary to the needs and wishes of the American people,” [Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL)] said.
Brooks continued, saying undocumented immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans and this amendment would serve to continue that trend in military services.
Brooks went on to promise that he will work to push back against the amendment.
“I cannot speak for other Washington elected officials but, as for me, I was elected to protect and promote the interests of Americans, not illegal aliens,” he said. “As such, I will continue my fight to put Americans first as we work to remove Rep. Gallego’s language from the NDAA prior to House passage.”
Brooks was not the only Republican lawmaker exercised about the addition. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) [said,] “It is incomprehensible that any House Committee would encourage using DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] to expand the President’s amnesty agenda further. It is even more disappointing as the NDAA is a bill designed to keep this nation safe from its enemies at a time of war, not about granting citizenship to illegal immigrants,” he said.

PETE SESSIONS MULLS BACKING AMNESTY IN THE NDAA TONIGHT IN RULES COMMITTEE HEARING
By MATTHEW BOYLE [Tuesday] 12 May 2015 Washington, DC

The amendment, which committee Republican chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) opposed insertion of during the markup process, is from Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
Gallego’s amendment passed the Armed Services Committee by a 33-30 vote.
Republicans who voted for the amnesty amendment include:
Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ)
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ)
Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY)
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT)

In response, now, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL)—a conservative who’s adamantly opposed to this amnesty—has introduced an amendment to be considered in the Rules Committee and eventually on the House floor that would strip the amnesty from the NDAA bill.
In a letter to Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), the House Rules Committee chairman, Brooks and a large group of other House Republicans wrote on May 5 explaining how the amnesty amendment inside the NDAA from Gallego runs in contravention of the principles of the House of Representatives.
“The House of Representatives has voted to defund DACA three times: June 2013, August 2014, and in this Congress in January 2015,” Brooks and his colleagues wrote to Sessions.

The language contained in Rep. Gallego’s amendment contradicts the House’s previous position and is a severe threat to the passage of the NDAA— legislation that funds the essential programs that America’s military requires. Especially in this time of increased terrorism, our national security should not be threatened by allowing such controversial language on a program we have rejected three times as unconstitutional.

“Maintaining the rule of law, especially in areas related to our national security, is an issue of upmost importance to the Chairman,” Rules Committee spokeswoman Jill Shatzen said in an email to Breitbart News. “The Committee is carefully considering amendments to NDAA, including the amendment submitted by Congressman Brooks.
UPDATE:
Claude Chafin, the spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee, contacted Breitbart News after the publication of this article to say that Chairman Thornberry supports the Brooks amendment to remove the Gallego amnesty text from the NDAA.

NDAA Cuts Military Personnel Slots, Could Add Illegal Aliens To Service Force - Breitbart
by ALEX SWOYER [Wednesday] 13 May 2015 Washington, DC

If the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 is approved, it would shrink the United States military under the pretense of frugality, namely by “pink slipping” career service members who’ve endured combat. Meanwhile, it could possibly use the military to grant amnesty to illegals.
According to a summary of the NDAA, the House Armed Services Committee supports a 20 percent cut in personnel by the Department of Defense to reduce headquarters’ budgets and workforce.
Breitbart News previously reported the proposal contains language that would use the military to grant amnesty to thousands of illegal aliens if they enlist in the military—essentially meaning that in addition to the cuts of Americans from service, Congress and the administration would be allowing illegal aliens to take scarce service jobs from Americans.
Breitbart reported, “The House Armed Services Committee has already passed the NDAA which contained the secretive amnesty for illegal aliens.
Reps. Dave Brat (R-VA) and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) previously responded to the amnesty provision in a joint statement.
“With passage of this amendment, a majority on the Armed Services Committee urged the Secretary of Defense to hire DACA illegal immigrants, rather than American citizens, at the same time the Pentagon is in the process of laying off tens of thousands of American troops,” Brat and Brooks said in a joint statement.
“According to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, the active Army will be cut by and/or lay off more than 80,000 uniformed personnel by the end of fiscal year 2017. Further, competition for enlistment is so challenging that American high- school graduates now face, ‘more difficulty qualifying for the armed services than ever in the 40-year history of the all-volunteer force,’” they added.
Career service members who endured combat are reportedly the ones who are getting pink slips in the name of budgetary cuts.
In a press release video, Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) of the House Armed Services Committee said, “We’ve got to be more agile in order to meet the threats – and this NDAA takes some steps into helping us be more agile and also to get better value for the taxpayer dollar.”

House panel sends defense bill to the floor, setting up immigration fight
By Martin Matishak - [Wednesday] 05/13/15

The House Rules Committee voted late Wednesday night to move the chamber’s version of the annual defense bill to the floor, setting up a potentially bruising debate on immigration.
In a party-line 8-3 vote, the panel allowed 135 amendments to the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
One amendment, by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), would eliminate language establishing a sense of Congress calling for the secretary of Defense to consider allowing recipients of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to serve in the military.
However, the GOP-controlled panel rejected a request made last week by Brooks and 24 other GOP members for the text to be stricken before the massive $612 billion measure reached the House floor.
Speaking before the panel in favor of his amendment, Brooks said the House Armed Services Committee approved the immigration language during the “early morning sleep-depraved portion” of the panel’s 18-hour bill markup.
He argued the text, which was approved 33-30 and attracted six Republican supporters, “betrays” Americans and legal immigrants by giving opportunities to illegal immigrants.
Several GOP lawmakers testified in favor of the Brooks amendment, most notably Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an immigration hard-liner.
He argued that the amendment, introduced by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), should be taken out of the defense bill, because immigration issues fall under the Judiciary Committee’s purview.
King also said any floor debate “could impact” a court case underway in Texas that is examining the legality of the DACA effort.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) argued that “unlike a lot of issues,” Gallego’s amendment went through “regular order” in the Armed Services Committee.
Rules Committee Republicans said several times they did not believe a hot-button issue like immigration should be included in the debate over the defense bill, which has been passed by Congress for 53 consecutive years.
“There is nothing about the Gallego amendment that helps the military,” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) said. “This debate does not belong superimposed on the NDAA.”
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), who also sits on the Armed Services panel, remarked that Gallego’s measure came up late in the markup process.
"I remember the debate being pretty darn short,” he said, adding he was “surprised it passed.”
Byrne said he supported Brooks’s proposal making its way to the floor but warned, “I don’t know what the outcome’s going to be.”
The full House will take up the NDAA on Thursday, with a vote on final passage expected sometime Friday.
The Rules panel did not approve an amendment filed by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) to strike a provision that would direct the Defense Department to evaluate how DACA recipients could expand the pool of recruits and impact military readiness.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) didn’t appear before the committee to defend his amendment, which would allow young illegal immigrants to serve in the military in exchange for legal status.

GreyLmist posted on 2015-05-14 13:19:40 ET Reply Untrace Trace Private Reply
#4. To: All (#1) (Edited)
The full House will take up the NDAA on Thursday, with a vote on final passage expected sometime Friday.

http://www.latinpost.com/articles/53489/20150515/immigration-reform-news
- update-ndaas-daca-amendments-blocked-despite-veterans.htm
First Posted: [Friday] May 15, 2015

In a 221-202 floor, the House amended the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to not include the amendment proposed by Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. [...] for the Pentagon to consider allowing [...] DACA recipients [...] to serve in the military.
The House also did not include an amendment introduced by Republican Rep. Jeff Denham of California. His amendment [included] provisions of the ENLIST Act, which allows certain immigrants to serve the military and gain legal status in the U.S. [Ref. The ENLIST Act: A Back Door to Instant Citizenship - heritage.org]

Additional info:
Most Dems vote against bill to authorize national defense programs for 2016 - theblaze.com May 15, 2015 [Nothing reported there on the issues of illegals.]
The final House vote of 269-151 let the bill pass, but that margin not enough to override Obama’s veto of the NDAA. [...] All but eight [unnamed] Republicans voted for the bill,

House approves defense policy bill - politico.com 5/15/15 [Reports on various NDAA issues, including removal of the Gallego amendment but nothing on the similar Denham amendment removal. Statement by Hillary Clinton's campaign in objection to illegals being blocked from admission to our Military.]
Defense bill passes House; Obama has threatened veto over spending cap issue - mercurynews.com 05/15/2015 [Mostly monetary/budget issues reported but alludes to Gallego's amnesty amendment being removed without naming it.]

GreyLmist posted on 2015-05-18 8:31:04 ET Reply Untrace Trace Private Reply
Replies to Comment # 4.
#5. To: All (#4) (Edited)
Sidenote:
NDAA ‘Ode To The Lesser Prairie Chicken’ - breakingdefense.com May 15, 2015

Western Republicans, always with an eye on the federal government’s pernicious encroachments on local property rights and on federal regulations in general, inserted language about the prairie chicken into the NDAA. The House approved an amendment Thursday night by voice vote to “prohibit the further listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened or endangered species until 2021." [...] “With passage of this amendment, we begin ending the massive regulatory threat to our rural way of life from the ill-conceived listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken,” [Kansas Republican Tim Huelskamp, champion of the legislation] said in a Friday statement. “It is high time that we place a greater value on the citizens of rural America than the Lesser Prairie Chicken.”

GreyLmist posted on 2015-05-18 08:33:26 ET Reply Untrace Trace Private Reply
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