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Eli Kantor is a labor, employment and immigration law attorney. He has been practicing labor, employment and immigration law for more than 36 years. He has been featured in articles about labor, employment and immigration law in the L.A. Times, Business Week.com and Daily Variety. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Journal. Telephone (310)274-8216; eli@elikantorlaw.com. For more information, visit beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com and and beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com

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Friday, February 13, 2015

Boehner Gives No Assurances on Avoiding Homeland Security Shutdown

Wall Street Journal
By Siobhan Hughes
February 12, 2015

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on Thursday declined to offer assurances that the Department of Homeland Security would avoid a shutdown, and said that Democrats would be to blame in the event that a stalemate over funding extends through the end of February, when a current funding measure expires.

“The House has done its job,” the Republican leader said when asked to provide assurances that there would not be a shutdown. “We’ve passed a bill that funds the department and stops the president’s unilateral actions with regard to immigration. It’s up to the Senate Democrats now to do their job.”

The comments reflect the growing stalemate over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which only remains funded until Feb.27. The Republican-controlled House has passed legislation that makes continued funding dependent on blocking U.S. President Barack Obama’s executive action to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation. In the Senate, Democrats have blocked Republicans from taking the bill up for debate. Neither side is backing down from its position.

“If funding for Homeland Security lapses, Washington Democrats can bear the responsibility,” Mr. Boehner said. He said that if Senate Democrats would yield, they could “offer amendments” and “make their case,” allowing both chambers to “meet in conference and try to work out the differences.”

The tension has been building for weeks and has been showing up in tough language as well as other forms of expression. A day earlier, Mr. Boehner resorted to the salty language he uses at moments of negotiating tension, saying that Senate Democrats needed to “get off their ass and do something – other than vote no.” On Thursday, when asked if the House would pass a bill to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security for a short period of time, Mr. Boehner didn’t even entertain the possibility. Instead, he simply laughed.


The House speaker suggested that he wouldn’t be comfortable if funding lapses for the Homeland Security Department. But he said that “we did our job  to fund the department. Now it’s up to the Senate Democrats to do what they have to do ….to help pass a bill.

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