U.S. House delegation from Georgia split on Homeland Security funding passage

WASHINGTON — While 75 Republican representatives joined Democrats in approving a version of a resolution agreed to by the Senate that funds the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year, Georgia’s delegation held firm along party lines.

The legislation, House Resolution 240, passed 257-167, with 182 Democrats and 75 Republicans in support. In the nay column were 167 Republicans, while three Republicans and six Democrats did not vote.

Georgia’s four Democratic delegation members, including Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, supported HB 240, while the 10 Republicans in the delegation, including Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, opposed it.

“Above everything,” Bishop said, “it is vitally important that a DHS (Department of Homeland Security) shutdown be averted so critical services provided by Homeland Security continue to safeguard and secure our families, businesses, and communities in Georgia and across the nation.”

The sticking point in the legislation, which concurs with the Senate-agreed version, was the funding of an immigration component based on a White House executive order that conservatives say usurped congressional authority and amounted to amnesty for illegal immigrants. The action ensures the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be funding through the end of September. The new fiscal year for the federal government starts Oct. 1.

The issue over presidential executive action was the pivotal one in Scott’s decision to vote against HR 240.

“I voted against the Senate’s version of the Department of Homeland Security funding bill because it did not ban the president’s executive amnesty overreach,” Scott said. “We cannot continue to let the president unilaterally run this country and violate the separation of powers. I will continue to fight to maintain the oath I took as a member of Congress to uphold the United States Constitution.”

The approval came after a failed attempt to table the Senate-agreed version, with 98 Republicans joining 180 Democrats to kill that motion by a 140-278 vote. Again, the state delegation’s vote was split along party lines, with all 10 Republicans supporting the motion and all but one Democrat opposing it, with Rep. Hank Johnson not voting.

“House passage of the clean Senate agreement on DHS funding ensures that TSA, Border Patrol, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and initiatives bolstering cyber-security are funded until the end of the fiscal year 2015,” Bishop said. “It is my hope that in the meantime, rational minds will convene over a long term solution regarding immigration reform, and pass a solution for the benefit of all Americans.”