On the recordDecember 7, 2011
I oppose the amendment. The amendment seeks to shield the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from Congress' authority to approve regulations under the REINS Act. That shield should be denied. For example, take the Department's rule to extend compliance deadlines for States to issue secure drivers' licenses under the REAL ID Act. Ten years after 9/11 hijackers used fraudulent licenses to board airplanes used to murder 3,000 innocent Americans, DHS continues to extend the deadline. Another example is the Department's 2009 rule to recall the Bush Administration's ``no-match'' rule. That regulation helped companies to identify illegal workers and comply with Federal immigration law. When the Obama Administration issued its rule to repeal ``no-match,'' it put the interests of illegal immigrants above those of millions of unemployed Americans and legal immigrants. This is the kind of decision making that takes place at the Department of Homeland Security. Congress should use every tool it can to reassert its authority over the legislative rulemaking functions it has delegated to DHS. The REINS Act is available to do that. I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment. The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee). The question was taken; and the Chair announced that the noes appeared to have it.
