House Republicans counter proposal to President Barack Obama's emergency spending request for the border including cutting his request, speeding up the returns of young migrants back home to Central America, and to send in the National Guard to protect the border, according to The Associated Press.
The proposal put the House on a collision course with the Democratic-run Senate, and increased the likelihood that congressional efforts to address the crisis on the Southern Border, where unaccompanied kids and teens have been showing up by the tens of thousands, will end in stalemate, the AP reported.
Several GOP lawmakers said the House plan would cost about $1.5 billion, compared to Obama's original $3.7 billion request for more immigration judges, detention facilities and other resources to deal with unaccompanied kids, the AP reported.
"Without trying to fix the problem I don't know how we actually are in a position to give the president any more money," said Speaker John Boehner, according to the AP. "What the president's asking for is a blank check."
Conservative lawmakers voiced objections, and Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana said Boehner told Republicans he was undecided about bringing the plan to the floor because he doesn't know if there are enough votes to pass it, the AP reported.
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala, said he couldn't support it, complaining that Obama has turned the U.S. into the "world's sugar daddy," according to the AP.
Republicans are demanding changes to the 2008 trafficking victims law that Republicans say has contributed to the crisis by allowing Central American youths to stay in this country indefinitely while awaiting far-off court dates as the price for approving any money for the crisis, the AP reported.
"Modifications to the law can be done to expedite the process while ensuring proper protections are in place for the children who need them," said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, who led Boehner's working group, according to the AP.
It comes even as Homeland Security officials are pleading again for action, saying overstressed border and immigration agencies will run out of money in the next two months, the AP reported. "Doing nothing in Congress is not an option," Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Tuesday.
