U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., took to the House floor on Tuesday to denounce U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Fla., agreeing to pass funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without pushing back against President Barack Obamas executive action on immigration.
Relying on Democratic votes, Boehner was successful in his efforts to get the U.S. Senates plan to fund DHS through Congress on Tuesday without any change in Obamas immigration action -- letting around 5 million illegals stay in the U.S. without fear of being deported.
Clawson responded by taking to the floor and making his case against the DHS funding and why it was important to stand against Obamas immigration actions.
This is America and everybody matters, Clawson said on the House floor. I say the unemployed folks the 18 million underemployed and unemployed they haven't been a part of this conversation, like they needed to be. I say that unilateral actions by a leader who doesn't take all stakeholders into account makes those that aren't taken into account irrelevant. I say we need to have this conversation again. This is America. Everybody matters not just those that came over the border illegally but millions of Americans and legal immigrants who have been here looking for jobs for long periods of time. I say we can do better. I say we must have a broader conversation. I say everybody matters.
You all know these people who are unemployed, Clawson added. They're in your family. They're your close friends. They are the people you see every day doing the jobs that some of us wouldn't want to do. I say these people matter.
I say, Mr. President, before you do a cram down of the law for the benefit of one group in our society, I say all the groups in society, particularly the unemployed, matter. Clawson continued.
Clawson said that the 5 million illegals covered by Obamas action would not be subjected to the mandate required under the presidents federal health-care law and insisted they could claim up to $35,000 in tax credits -- benefits denied to American citizens and immigrants.
We must continue to do everything in Congress to stop the presidents illegal amnesty in order to be fair to those still seeking opportunities in our country legally, and to those who have patiently abided by our rules and laws to earn their legal path to citizenship, Clawson said.
Clawson then turned his fire on Boehner, insisting the GOP congressional leadership in both the House and the Senate undercut conservatives on this issue.
With the defeat handed us today by our own leadership in both chambers, conservatives will continue the fight in Congress while we closely watch the actions of the federal court, Clawson said.
Earlier this year, Clawson voted for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to be speaker of the House instead of Boehner or his various challengers, including Florida Republican U.S. Reps. Dan Webster and Ted Yoho.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
