Obama losing control of House
on illegal aliens in healthcare bill
Friday, November 06, 2009
By Carl Braun
Examiner.com
Chair of the House Rules Committee Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Associated Press
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President Barack Obama, working hard to prove he is not "A Liar!" , has been quietly pressing the House of Representatives to ensure illegal aliens are not in the healthcare bill. Pelosi and her crew are turning a deaf ear to the President it seems, placing greater value on the twenty votes in the Hispanic Caucus than on the reputation of their fearless leader.
The Caucus had an audience with Mr. Obama yesterday and must have made quite an impression albeit not a favorable one for the President. The Associated Press is reporting this morning the chair of the House Rules Committee, Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) indicated she is giving the Caucus what it wants. In the bill, supposedly on schedule for a vote Saturday in the House, Slaughter says it will contain provisions allowing illegal aliens to participate in the healthcare exchange and does not require verification to keep illegal aliens out of other parts of the healthcare system.
This is a staggering blow to the President and would not have happened without the concurrence of House Speaker Pelosi, who is said to be desperate for the twenty Caucus votes; impetuous enough to "dis" the big guy.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, (D-NY), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said about their meeting with the President:
"He listened to us. We listened to him. We made it very clear that 20 votes in the Hispanic caucus depend on the language in the House bill."
"I think that he got our message," Velazquez added.
Pelosi is now in a bit of a pickle. She is no doubt weighing the votes of the "Blue Dog Democrats" who will likely line up against any language providing benefits for illegals, against those of the Caucus. Allowing the bill to go forward, despite all the protestations of the President damage his credibility and control over the Congress his party dominates.
The Senate will almost certainly reject any such language as a high stakes political game of "chicken" is ongoing inside the beltway. In an odd match, the only losers are the President and the American people.
Carl Braun is an analyst for the Homeland Security Policy Institute Group and he's logged 5,000-plus hours on the border. He has written several books including his most recent on Border Insecurity, “Above All Else”
. Contact Carl at Carl.Braun@BPAUX.org.
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