House Approves Border Funds as Pelosi Overcomes Liberal Revolt
House Approves Border Funds as Pelosi Overcomes Liberal Revolt
(Bloomberg) -- The House passed a $4.5 billion emergency spending bill to address the humanitarian needs of migrants at the the southern border as Speaker Nancy Pelosi overcame a revolt by liberals in her caucus reluctant to grant President Donald Trump’s request for the funds.
The 230-195 vote capped a dramatic day in which leaders were forced to rewrite the measure to secure enough Democratic votes amid nearly united Republican opposition. Trump had threatened to veto the House bill even before Democrats added new provisions aimed at at improving the conditions in migrant detention centers.
The funding request was further politicized after Trump announced and then canceled massive immigration raids in U.S. cities over the past weekend. Pelosi called Trump last week urging him to cancel the mass arrests as progressive Democrats said they would be wary of granting the administration more immigration-related resources in any form if the raids were still set to happen.
“There is understandable anxiety among the members of the House Democratic caucus because there is understandable anxiety among the American people about this president when it comes to the subject of immigration,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York told reporters Tuesday.
‘Obligations as Human Beings’
Unable to afford defections by more than 15 to 20 lawmakers, Pelosi allowed changes to the bill aimed at improving conditions for child migrants at intake centers at the border and emphasized to her caucus that the bill already had provisions to ensure the funds wouldn’t be used for immigration raids.
Veronica Escobar, a progressive Democrat who represents El Paso, Texas, where roughly 250 children were reportedly detained in unhealthy, inhumane conditions, said her misgivings were addressed by the changes.
“The urgency of now and today is children sleeping on concrete floors, children whose tee-shirts are covered in mucus,” she told reporters. “We have to meet our obligations as human beings and fund the care for these people.”
Congress may not be able to complete work on the border bill until members return from next week’s recess on July 9.
The Senate plans to consider its own $4.6 billion border spending bill this week. The bipartisan measure cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 30-1 votes last week.
That bill doesn’t contain provisions aimed at stopping the Trump administration from cutting off aid to Central America, and it also lacks the other child migrant protections liberal House Democrats fought to include.
With Congress aiming to leave Washington Thursday, it will be difficult to reconcile the competing House and Senate versions this week.
Funding Delays
Trump requested the funds in May, but they were left out of a June $19 billion disaster aid bill over Democratic objections. Republicans blamed these delays for the lack of resources at housing centers for migrants.
“The speaker’s been well aware of it, and they’ve chosen to ignore the crisis,” said Republican Whip Steve Scalise. “They’ve let it come to a head where if we leave this week for July 4th recess, without addressing the crisis, that agency in HHS will go into a government shutdown.”
The Health and Human Services department warned this week that it could run out of money to house and care for child migrants at the border in the coming weeks.
Jeffries predicted that Trump would back down and the House version would become law, noting that the president threatened to bomb North Korea and impose tariffs on Mexico only to beg off.
“President Trump has consistently talked a big game and then at the 11th hour backed down,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie Asséo
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