House panel advances $70 billion immigration bill

Lawmakers voted 7-4 to advance the legislation.

A $70 billion immigration enforcement bill cleared a key hurdle in the House Rules Committee Monday night, setting up floor votes on the measure as early as Tuesday.

The panel voted 7-4 to advance the legislation after meeting for more than six hours.

“The motion to report is agreed to,” Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx said.

During the hearing, Democrats forced votes on several failed amendments related to the “anti-weaponization fund” – including one that would prohibit Jan. 6 rioters from receiving federal compensation. Other failed amendment votes were related to the Affordable Care Act tax credits and additional training requirements for immigration enforcement officers.

This comes after Senate Republicans passed the package, known as the “Secure America Act” last Friday.

If all House members are voting and present – which is unlikely – House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford three GOP defections.

“We’ll pass it,” Johnson told reporters Monday.

“I have a very small margin for error, as you know, so we'll get it through, but we have to fund border enforcement and immigration enforcement, and everybody here knows that, so they're going to have to put their personal preferences aside to get the job done,” he added.

Johnson said “yeah” when asked if he had concerns about attendance for votes Tuesday due to primary races.

“The primary season is a real challenge for having votes, but the Congress has to do its job. And I've told all of our members, you've got to do both. You've got to be present,” he said.

Asked if the reconciliation votes could get kicked to Wednesday, Johnson said, “I don’t think so.”

Congress has already funded the Department of Homeland Security, excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CPBP). These agencies were excluded from budget negotiations to end the historic partial government shutdown earlier this year.