Sen. Ted Cruz showing his displeasure at a May 9 Judiciary Committee markup on the immigration bill. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
WASHINGTON ? No secret that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz dislikes the immigration bill that cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last month over his objections.
Today, he and three GOP colleagues penned a 5-page ?dear colleague? letter (full text here) to fellow lawmakers spelling out their objections. One key complaint: that the bipartisan Gang of Eight that authored the package effectively colluded with Democrats to fend off any meaningful amendments.
?The last thing this country needs right now is another 1,000-plus page bill that, like Obamacare, was negotiated behind closed doors with special interests.?We want immigration reform to pass, but only if it actually fixes the broken system, rather than allowing the problems to grow and fester,? says the letter, signed by Cruz and Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Mike Lee of Utah, and Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
All four sit on the Judiciary Committee, which spent weeks debating amendments. Their letter lists dozens of rejected amendments that, in their view, would have improved the bill. As we reported last week, Cruz remains coy on whether he plans to filibuster the bill on the Senate floor.
The letter doesn?t mention the possibility of that tactic.
But Cruz and the others make clear their objections to many provisions, most especially enacting a path to citizenship for the 11 million people now in the country illegally. The letter reiterates their warning that this would only encourage future waves of illegal immigration ? and is certainly a deal killer for them.
?Americans expect their government to end the lawlessness, not surrender to it. They deserve immigration reform with actual border security, enforcement of the laws on the books, and a legal immigration system that works,? the senators wrote.
earl scruggs wrestlemania 28 game of thrones season 2 dierks bentley kenny chesney academy of country music awards brad paisley
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.