WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) – House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan was the only Wisconsin Republican to vote in favor of a Homeland Security funding bill without the concessions on immigration his party had demanded.
The House sent the measure to President Obama Tuesday on a vote of 257-167. Ryan was among 75 GOP members voting yes. They joined all 182 Democrats present in supporting the funding — including Wisconsin’s Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, and Mark Pocan.
The state’s four other Republicans all voted no — Jim Sensenbrenner, Reid Ribble, Sean Duffy, and Glenn Grothman. They and other Republicans kept pushing to hold up the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, until Obama drops his executive orders to extend deportation stays and work permits for millions of illegal immigrants.
But with a shutdown of Homeland Security looming on Friday, House Speaker John Boehner said he was out of options — and he noted that Republican senators never found a way to “win the fight,” either.
The bill funds Homeland Security through the end of September. Obama vowed to sign the bill and scolded Congress for taking “far too long” to approve it.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
