This upcoming Sunday, the people of Venezuela will hold an election that, if legitimate, would put an end to years of the oppressive Maduro narco-regime. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued a statement in support of the Venezuelan people: “The...
Este próximo domingo, el pueblo venezolano tendrá una elección que, de ser legítima, pondría fin a años de opresión por parte del narco-régimen de Maduro. El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) grabó un mensaje de video en español y emitió una declaración en...
Twenty-three years ago, the United States was attacked by Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001. Now, Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in a U.S. court for his role in the attack, has requested the U.S. Department of Justice to allow a prisoner transfer...
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of Senator Rubio’s...
As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opens up new facilities, many veterans are losing access to the VA’s Community Care Program and, consequently, their long-term healthcare providers. Veterans throughout the country have reported a loss of care, including...
The U.S.-India partnership is vital to countering influences from Communist China. In order to strengthen this partnership, it is essential to enhance our strategic diplomatic, economic, and military relationship with New Delhi. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)...
Rubio: “What we’ve always worked on is a starting point. We worked with eight people, four Republicans and four Democrats, crafted what I think is an excellent starting point. Now we’re asking our colleagues for suggestions about how to improve it.” (CBS “This Morning,” 5/9/13)
CONCERN WITH ORIGINAL BILL: While the immigration bill has been described as “the toughest immigration enforcement provisions ever seriously considered in Congress,” there were concerns that the process for securing the border gave too much leeway to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and not enough Congressional oversight to provide serious accountability on the process.
HOW THE AMENDMENTS STRENGTHEN THE BILL: Senators were able to identify ways to improve Congressional oversight of DHS and border security. Three amendments – the Grassley 2, Grassley 5, and Flake 2 – all improved the reporting of progress on border security. The Grassley 2 amendment requires reports on the border to be submitted to both the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary. The Grassley 5 amendment requires the DHS CFO to submit annual audits of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund to Congress and make the report available on the Internet for the general public to review. The Flake 2 amendment revises the schedule for DHS’s submittal of the semiannual status report regarding the implementation of the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy to 180 days after submission, and every 180 days thereafter. Flake 2 also adds the Comptroller General of the U.S. as a recipient of the status report, and adds a requirement for the Comptroller to conduct an annual review of the reports submitted by DHS, as well as require the Comptroller to submit an assessment of the status and progress of the implementation of the Southern Border Security Strategy.
All of the amendments submitted to the Committee on the Judiciary are available online for review here.