Rep. Chip Roy, a freshman Texas Republican who led the party in fighting for resources to deal with the massive surge of illegal migrants at the southern border, single-handedly blocked a major disaster relief bill in part because it lacks money to deal with the crisis.
Roy, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, raised an objection when Democrats attempted to pass a $19.1 billion disaster aid package Friday morning, blocking it.
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The measure had been expected to sail through after passing the Senate with an overwhelming and bipartisan vote Thursday and a promise from President Trump that he would sign it. The measure had stalled for months over partisan differences, denying flood, fire, and storm-ravaged communities critical funding.
But House conservatives were not included in the bipartisan handshake on the measure. While they are in the minority in the House, this time they had leverage and decided to use it.
The House left town for the month Thursday, before the deal materialized. That meant the only way the House could clear the Senate-passed bill was through unanimous consent, which any lawmaker has the authority to block.
And Roy did just that.
“The bill includes nothing to address the clear national emergency and humanitarian crisis we face at our southern border,” Roy said, announcing his objection to the bill offered by Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla. “ While Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi has consistently denied the crisis at our border, and thus has denied the humanity of the victims of cartels and other traffickers, she has been insisting that there is no money to satisfy the good faith compromise emergency funding requests from the White House. “
Roy and other members of the House Freedom Caucus are unhappy that the disaster aid package excluded about $4.4 billion Trump sought to provide the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to help cope with the massive influx of illegal immigrants at the Texas border.
Democrats objected to the border funding, in part because some of the money would have been directed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which many liberals want to abolish. Trump finally relented and agreed to leave out the money after Republican leaders promised they would try to pass it in a separate measure.
But Freedom Caucus members wanted him to hold his ground.
“There is no reason this disaster supplemental should not include the quite modest $4.4 billion request from Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to ensure DHS and HHS do not run out of money while managing the over 100,000 illegal aliens being apprehended and the Unaccompanied Alien Minor Children being unable to be housed appropriately,” Roy said Friday.
Roy also cited the cost of the measure, which has nearly doubled since lawmakers first tried to pass it last year.
Billions have been added to help communities damaged by more recent storms, including Midwest flooding that devastated many farming communities.
Roy said Pelosi should not have let lawmakers leave for the recess with the deal pending in the Senate.
“I objected primarily because had I not, Congress would have passed into law a bill that spends a significant amount of taxpayer money without members of Congress even being present in our nation’s capitol to vote on it,” Roy said. “Speaker Pelosi knew full well that a disaster bill may be coming from the Senate and yet chose to recess the House and then brought this forward for consent. I stayed in D.C. to object because this kind of swampy practice is what Texans elected me to stand against.”
Roy, 46, is familiar with the ways of Congress. Before running to replace the retiring Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, in the 21st District, he served as chief of staff to fellow conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who filibustered on the Senate floor for 21 hours in an effort to defund Obamacare.
He also worked in the leadership office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, when Cornyn served as Republican Whip. Both Cornyn and Cruz voted for the bill in the Senate on Thursday.
Roy was among a trio of Republicans who sent a list of proposals to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to stop the border surge.
The proposal called for better training to determine who should get asylum, limiting ICE parole policies, limiting work authorization, and raising asylum fees.
Roy, who represents the Austin area, can’t stop the bill for long. Even if a Republican objects again at the Thursday pro forma session, when lawmakers are still away, Democrats will ultimately be able to pass it when they return the week of June 3 and can conduct a roll-call vote.
