{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397799", "Setting the Stage to Fight the Presidents Unconstitutional Actions on Immigration", "2014-12-17", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Last week, the House passed a spending bill that funds the government\u2014except for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)\u2014through next September. DHS, the agency in charge of implementing the president\u2019s \u201cexecutive amnesty,\u201d is only funded through February, setting up a major battle early in the next Congress. While the spending bill was far from a perfect package, I voted for it because two critical things: 1) it requires Congress to pass new legislation that funds DHS\u2014which is implementing this immigration plan\u2014when Congress has a Republican Senate and a strengthened Republican majority in the House, and\u00a02) it continues House Republicans\u2019 effort to keep discretionary spending at pre-Obama Administration levels.\u00a0I wanted to take this opportunity to explain to you why I felt this vote was necessary and clear up some misconceptions about the measure.\r\nSince the president\u2019s November announcement, I\u2019ve heard from thousands of Tennesseans who are concerned about his unilateral, unconstitutional executive action to allow five million illegal immigrants to remain legally in this country. I could not in good conscience support legislation that would implement this policy, but this spending package does not do that. Instead, it only funds operations for the Department of Homeland Security until the end of February, which will allow the new Republican-led Congress to act on overturning this executive action. Within the first two weeks of the next Congress beginning in January, the House of Representatives will act on legislation to defund \u201cexecutive amnesty\u201d.\r\nIt is painfully clear the president has no intention of truly working with Congress, but the election proved that American voters want change in Washington. By electing a Republican Senate, voters have empowered Congress to push back against President Obama\u2019s policies. With this majority, the president will have no choice but to listen to Congress on the issues \u2013 including immigration.\r\nThis bill does not provide a blank check for the administration to push executive amnesty as some have claimed, and since outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid \u2013 who urged the President to \u201cgo big \u2013 big as he can\u201d on immigration \u2013 would not allow a vote on the president\u2019s plan, the best solution was to consider this issue when Majority Leader-Elect Mitch McConnell will not only bring it up, but also actively support a vote on stopping this executive action.\r\nPresident Obama\u2019s number one talking point to distract the media and voters from serious issues in this country is that Republicans are only interested in shutting down the government. By passing this bill, we\u2019ve taken that talking point out of his arsenal and focused the fight early next year solely on his this executive action. I can promise you this: within the first couple weeks of the 114th Congress we WILL vote to defund the president\u2019s actions. With a Republican-led Senate, we can actually get this bill to the president\u2019s desk. He can veto it if he chooses, but the money for DHS will run out. Unless he wants to be responsible for single-handedly shutting down this part of the federal government, he\u2019ll have to work with Congress to reverse his plan.\r\nYou might also be pleased to know that I have signed on to a legal brief challenging the constitutionality of the president\u2019s actions on immigration in the Supreme Court. I\u2019m sick of this administration ignoring Congress, and I am proud to take this fight to the court. Please rest assured I will continue fighting the president both legislatively and legally. I won\u2019t allow him to get away with trampling our Constitution any longer, and I look forward to continuing this fight in the next Congress.\u00a0\r\nFeel free to contact my office if we can be of assistance to you or your family.", 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://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397799"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5411819331347942, "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"}