Wrote in letter: It is incumbent on Congress to honor the Constitution and respect the will of the people by using the power of the purse to rein in the Presidents actions.
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Rep. Joe Barton joined 55 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker John Boehner Friday asking him to honor his commitment to remove all available funding streams" that support the Presidents immigration executive action.
The letter explained to the Speaker that voters soundly rejected the Presidents phone and pen" policies that ignore the law pointing directly to the immigration executive action signed on November 20 2014.
As a result Congress must take immediate action using our constitutionally given power of the purse to defund the rule of law and eliminate all funding for this executive action on immigration" the Members wrote.
The letter pointed out that the first opportunity to do this came during the consideration of H.R. 83 known as the CRomnibus. Rep. Barton and 66 others voted against the bill because of the lack of action on immigration funding. When the bill passed Republican Leadership told members the House would stand its ground against the Presidents unconstitutional actions in January.
The Members wrote in the letter that the time to stand strong as arrived.
We all agree that Congress must take steps to address our broken immigration system. But the crisis facing the House isnt about immigration; it is about defending the separation of powers and the rule of law. As established by our founding fathers in the Constitution only Congress has the power to establish the rule of naturalization make or change the laws. These changes cannot be determined at the Presidents sole discretion. Therefore it is incumbent on Congress to honor the Constitution and respect the will of the people by using the power of the purse to rein in the Presidents actions."
We respectfully request that the House stand firm in its efforts to oppose the Presidents executive action and place comprehensive restrictions on the funding for its implementation as soon as possible in the 114
th Congress."
Members asked for a prompt response. A complete copy of the letter can be found by
clicking here.
