{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cole.house.gov/bloomberg-republicans-shop-shutdown-alternatives-immigration-fight", "Bloomberg: Republicans Shop Shutdown Alternatives in Immigration Fight", "2014-11-18", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "OK", "Tom Cole", "C001053", "cole.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Bloomberg - Heidi Przybyla\nHouse Republican leaders are trying to persuade members not to risk a U.S. government shutdown in responding to President Barack Obama\u2019s plan to ease deportation of undocumented immigrants.\nHouse Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers has offered a plan that would keep the government operating after current funding expires Dec. 11. Rogers of Kentucky said he wants to finance the government for a full year, and retroactively cancel money in 2015 for any immigration action ordered by the president.\nThat would avoid a repeat of the 16-day partial government shutdown in October 2013 caused by a standoff over Republican insistence on using a government spending bill to defund Obama\u2019s health-care law. Republicans\u2019 public approval plunged.\nHouse Speaker John Boehner said at a news conference today that canceling appropriated funds is one possibility. \u201cThere are a lot of options we\u2019re considering,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a lot of good ideas out there.\u201d\nA Boehner ally, Republican Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, said many members \u201cunderstand what was done in October of last year is not the appropriate way going forward.\u201d Court challenges also are a possibility, he said.\n\u201cThe conference is trying to be a lot more thoughtful,\u201d Cole said. \u201cOur aim is to shut down what the president is doing, not to shut down the government.\u201d\nExecutive Orders  \n\tObama has said he will use executive action to revise immigration policy by the end of the year unless Congress advances legislation. That could include halting deportation of the parents of children brought to the U.S. illegally. The action could be broader, covering many of the 11 million people included in a bill passed by the Democratic-led Senate last year.\nJosh Earnest, the White House spokesman, declined to say when Obama will take action. Asked about potentially shutting down the government, Earnest said \u201cit\u2019s certainly not unprecedented rhetoric from Republicans, unfortunately.\u201d\nA number of House and Senate Republicans say they want to deny the federal funds needed to issue work permits and residency cards to undocumented immigrants. Congress must pass new funding legislation next month or risk a shutdown.\nHouse Republicans\u2019 chief vote-counter, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, has been meeting with conservatives to identify alternatives, said an aide who sought anonymity to describe the private talks.\nRepublican Bridge  \n\tAs former head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Scalise can serve as a bridge between leadership and Tea Party-backed members looking for a way to block the president.\n\u201cThere are a variety of different tools,\u201d said Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz, an RSC member.\nAnother option is writing a full-year appropriations bill for most of the government and a temporary spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies that handle immigration tasks.\nNext year Congress could add defunding language to those agencies\u2019 spending bills, recognizing that a presidential veto would affect only them.\nRepresentative Lamar Smith of Texas, also an RSC member, said he is open to alternatives, as did Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a Republican who has frequently split with her party\u2019s leaders. She is retiring after this session.\nSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said Obama shouldn\u2019t delay action on immigration any longer.\n\u201cI\u2019m tired of hearing the House of Representatives\u201d say \u201cgive us more time, give us more time,\u201d Reid said in an interview with Univision. \u201cI think it should be done now.\u201d\nOnline: Bloomberg", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cole.house.gov/bloomberg-republicans-shop-shutdown-alternatives-immigration-fight"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.8680451214313507, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}