Cruz to House GOP: Defund Obama’s actions

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is calling for the House to adopt a short-term spending bill that defunds President Obama’s immigration actions, a plan at odds with the one emerging in the chamber. 

{mosads}”Both Houses should use the power of the purse, which the Framers understood to be the most potent tool Congress has to rein in an out-of-control Executive,” Cruz said in a statement on Wednesday. 

 “We should pass a short-term continuing resolution that includes language defunding the implementation of the President’s executive action on amnesty,” he added. 

In contrast, the current plan among House Republicans is to provide longer-term funding, through September, for most of the government, and pass a shorter-term bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which handles immigration. 

“House Republicans should provide Senate Democrats the opportunity to show voters whether or not they have heard the message the voters sent in the 2014 elections,” Cruz said. 

Cruz led a defunding effort last year on ObamaCare and received much of the blame for the government shutdown. Many Republicans are now seeking to avoid a repeat. 

Cruz calls for using all possible means to fight Obama’s actions and reprises his call for blocking Obama’s nominations until he reverses course on immigration. 

“Republicans in Congress should use every tool at our disposal — our constitutional checks and balances — to stop President Obama’s amnesty,” Cruz said. 

His statement includes links to 11 Senate Democrats making statements expressing support for legislative action on immigration over executive action. 

“Nearly a dozen Senate Democrats have publicly expressed concerns about President Obama’s executive amnesty,” Cruz said. “Support for the President’s lawlessness decreases by the day.”