WASHINGTON – While most of his Republican colleagues voted for a $1.1 trillion federal spending bill Thursday, Rep. Bill Posey would have none of it.
For Posey, it was an easy call. In his view, the bill would spend too much, doesn’t follow the proper budget process, and wouldn’t undo President Barack Obama’s executive order last month that protects millions of undocumented immigrants — including an estimated 253,000 in Florida — from deportation.
The president’s order infuriated congressional Republicans, who called it unconstitutional and have vowed to neutralize it by withholding funding for the Homeland Security program that processes those immigrants.
The bill, which passed with 162 Republican votes, would fund the government through the end of fiscal 2015 on Sept. 30, except for the Homeland Security Department, which would receive only enough money to operate through February. Most House Republicans believe that, by February, they’ll he able to undo Obama’s executive order.
“We’ll have control of the House and Senate, and (Obama) won’t be able to threaten to take away Social Security payments, withhold military pay, or shut down the national parks if he doesn’t get his way,” said GOP Rep. Tom Rooney of Okeechobee, who voted for the spending bill. “We’ll have this fight on our terms, with clear majorities, and with the support of the American people.”
But Posey, R-Rockledge, and other Republicans who voted against the measure aren’t willing to wait.
“Congress should not fund the president’s efforts to circumvent Congress and rewrite the (immigration) law,” he said in a statement issued Friday.
“I strongly believe that the first step in reforming our immigration system is to secure our borders and achieve operational control over them,” Posey continued. “Anything else will continue to bring chaos to our borders and jeopardize the security of our nation.”