THE deal has been done, the vote is over, and the bill is now delivered to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature. The Department of Homeland Security will not run out of money anymore.
With a vote of 257-167, the House cleared legislation last Tuesday, March 3 that will keep the agency operating through the end of the fiscal year (September), after a standoff just last week threatened to paralyze the agency and furlough thousands of workers. The biggest pleasant surprise of this new development: DHS gets its funding WITHOUT any rider that reins in President Obama’s executive action on immigration.
This is good news for all of Americans — documented or otherwise — because the funding will keep the Department of Homeland Security open, and help implement programs that will keep the country safe amid all terror threats.
With this development, however, undocumented immigrants have one less obstacle to hurdle, after a Federal court temporary put a halt on the implementation of Obama’s executive orders that will spare about five million qualified undocumented immigrants from deportation.
If the courts decide in a month, for example, that Obama’s executive orders do not violate the Constitution, then funding will not be a stumbling block to the implementation anymore — at least up until the end of September.
As CNN reported, the debate sparked plenty of nail-biting drama on Capitol Hill last week. Congress stayed in session late into the night on Friday after conservatives helped block a bill that would have kept DHS open for three weeks.
Despite rumors of a potential coup, Speaker John Boehner pushed through a short-term bill that would keep the agency open until only March 6. Thankfully before this new day of another legislative battle, the House passed the clean bill on March 3.
CNN further reported that Boehner told his members Tuesday morning that he had run out of options and the Senate couldn’t pass a bill with immigration language attached. Republicans tried to tie DHS funding to the repeal of the President’s executive orders, but the party couldn’t overcome Democratic filibusters in the Senate.
What will happen after September? That is the big question as the debates will surely continue. But what is important is that the DHS will now be able to fulfill its vital mission: “to secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, but our goal is clear: keeping America safe.” (from DHS website)
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
