During yesterday’s markup of S. 744, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said the bill was just like Obamacare – which contained 1,600 delegations of Congressional authority. S. 744 allows the DHS secretary to waive rules over 400 times, including in cases where criminals attempt to get amnesty. Watch the video of his remarks about delegation below.
In addition, the border security provisions of the bill are too dependent on the DHS secretary self-certifying that DHS is doing a good job of enforcing the border. Instead, Congress should be the one to make the final judgment on whether the border is secure. Despite these common-sense arguments, however, the Republican members of the Gang of Eight voted against common-sense fixes to the bill yesterday.