WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) today issued the following statement following a meeting with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC):Emphasis added.“This morning we discussed with the Majority Leader and Majority Whip our concerns about a pattern of behavior by the majority leadership during the past seven months that has resulted in actions being taken that disenfranchise Members and defy the will of the people they represent. This pattern culminated in a serious incident last night during consideration of a Republican motion-to-recommit that sought to send the agriculture appropriations bill back to committee so it could be rewritten to prevent taxpayer-funded benefits from going to illegal immigrants.
“A majority of the House last night voted to pass this Republican proposal, which deals with an issue of great importance to American taxpayers. But the Democratic leadership, which wanted a different outcome, overruled the vote and declared that the motion had actually failed. In our view, this was an astonishing and unprecedented abuse of power, defying the will of the people and trampling on the very fabric of American freedom and democracy.
“As we told Majority Leader Hoyer and Majority Whip Clyburn this morning: Republicans won last night’s vote, and the evidence shows we won. The vote on last night’s vote should stand at 215-213, and the bill should be sent back to committee to be amended as the motion passed by the House specified.
“This morning the Majority Leader acknowledged mistakes were made, offered his apologies, and offered to discuss the matter with the Republican leadership, but he did not express a willingness to accept the true outcome of last night’s vote. While Republicans appreciate the dialogue and are continuing to discuss the matter with our Democratic counterparts, the right course of action is for the Democratic leadership to respect the will of the House and the American people by allowing the actual vote to stand.
“We are resolved that with the exception of legislation responding to the collapse of the Minnesota bridge and legislation closing the terrorist loophole in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA], the House should not proceed with work on any other business until last night's vote to deny taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants is restored.”
In this article from The Hill, it looked like Republican Leader, my Congressman, and a Great American -- John Boehner -- was a bit too eager to get back to business instead of taking this fight on... I am proud to say that it looks like there is some fight left to be fought here and Boehner is going to lead his troops.
