Wilson: Legislation Stops the President's Unconstitutional Executive Order and Protects American Jobs
Press Release
Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) today issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 240, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015, to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of the current fiscal year:
"President Obama's unconstitutional decision to pardon illegal aliens for breaking our laws is a deliberate overreach of presidential authority that destroys jobs for American citizens, insults the millions of immigrants following our rules and working through the system to achieve legal status, and ignores the will of the American people. We voted today to defund the President's unlawful executive order and ensure our current laws are strongly enforced.
"Today's bipartisan bill works to improve our immigration and customs enforcement, strengthen our border security, and increase transparency in DHS programs to modernize our legal immigration system and protect American jobs. It helps protect our nation against terrorism, maintain highly-equipped and well-trained personnel, and ensure our nation's readiness to respond to potential threats -- all in a manner that serves the best use of taxpayer dollars, while stopping the President's actions that destroy jobs for American citizens.
"We will continue efforts to ensure the safety of our citizens, while helping more Americans get back to work. Moving forward, I hope the President will focus on implementing current law rather than circumventing Congress to promote the interests of illegal aliens over the well being of American families."
H.R. 240, which passed the House by a vote of 236--191, provides $39.7 billion in discretionary funding for DHS, an increase of $400 million compared to the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. According to the Committee, "[T]he bill prioritizes frontline security -- including all operational, counterterrorism, and threat-targeting activities, and essential tactical equipment -- and saves taxpayer dollars by reducing overhead costs and cutting funds for lower priority programs."
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