01/05/2024

Border Dispute Could Force Partial Government Shutdown

Partisan politics once again threaten U.S. economy

Far-right Republicans in the House are threatening to force a partial government shutdown unless Congress enacts strict new changes to immigration law, imperiling crucial government services — and U.S. aid to Ukraine — over a long-fraught issue that could be critical in this year’s elections.

On Wednesday, dozens of GOP lawmakers toured a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, to push House-passed legislation that would significantly limit migrants’ ability to claim asylum, restart construction of a border wall and cut into President Joe Biden’s power to grant humanitarian parole to migrants. Members of the Republican conference’s most conservative flank demanded that legislation become law in exchange for their votes to approve federal spending for the rest of the 2024 fiscal year, though the GOP-led House already rejected such a trade in September.

"H. R. 2 needs to be the unflinching House policy because all of it’s important to securing the border," said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), chair of the archconservative House Freedom Caucus, to The Washington Post. "The president and Senate majority leader have no interest in securing the border, and so therefore, we as a House majority should say, 'We're not going to fund a government that is going to continue to facilitate this border invasion.'"

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.