Monday, November 18, 2013

Duck & Cover

Today's edition of The Hill features an interview with Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas). The interview covered a wide range of topics, including Horsford's rise to power in Carson City before leaving for DC.

The article also jumped into the hot topics on Capitol Hill today. Any guesses as to what came up? Fortunately for us, Rep. Horsford didn't hold back.

In Congress, Horsford has been an eager supporter of comprehensive immigration reform [CIR] and was one of the five original sponsors of a House bill similar to the one that passed the Senate last summer. While speaking with The Hill, he described his experience in Washington as “frustrating” due to what he sees as deliberate evasion by Republican leadership on the issue.

He criticized House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for refusing to consider the Senate’s comprehensive bill while also not bringing forward any of the piecemeal measures Republicans have suggested they’d prefer.

“[If you want multiple bills,] well then, do that, bring something forward,” Horsford said. “But to suggest that nothing can be done is irresponsible, and it is reckless, and it shows no courage on the pressing issues that are facing this country.” [...]

“It only takes 15 minutes to pass a bill once they decide to bring it for a vote,” he said. “There is bipartisan support for many bills, but right now we have a Speaker who is choosing to only govern based on what a faction of his caucus supports, rather than a majority of the body.”

Earlier today, we examined the policy centered root of the Republican Party's current mid-life crisis. Of course, that root includes immigration. And as long as House Republican "leaders" keep trying to duck CIR, the more they worsen their party's mid-life crisis.

Rep. Horsford and other House Democrats working on HR 15 have reached out to their Republican colleagues. So far, three of them have signed on as cosponsors. And the content of HR 15 is widely popular. So why not act on HR 15 already?

This is something that House Republican "leaders" continue to struggle with. They've been offering plenty of excuses to try to cover their behinds. What they still haven't offered is any sort of concrete action. And as long as Republicans who claim to support CIR (cough- Joe Heck- cough) fail to match their words with any concrete action, nothing will ever happen.

What are any of these House Republicans accomplishing with their silly "duck & cover" games? Immigration reform isn't going away. Neither are the American families affected by current policies. They can't duck and cover and hide from reality, and neither can Congress.

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