Today, I voted in favor of two resolutions recommending that the House of Representatives find Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  The criminal contempt resolution authorizes a criminal referral to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.  The civil contempt resolution allows the Oversight and Government Reform to seek a civil enforcement action to force compliance with the subpoena, in the event that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia does not move forward.

To read the full report from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, click below.

We could see some movement on legislation to promote job creation and reduce burdensome regulations. This week, the House Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, will hold a mark-up of H.R. 10, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. I am a cosponsor of this legislation, which would require that Congress take an up-or-down vote on every new major rule before it could be enforced on businesses and the American people. The bill would provide much-needed certainty for American businesses owners who are often hamstrung due to constantly changing regulations coming out of Washington.

You can read more about it here. You can read the full bill text here.

If the bill is reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee, the next step would be a vote by the full House of Representatives. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the bill's status as it is considered in committee this week.

Two weeks ago, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – the agency that is supposed to remove illegal and criminal immigrants – issued a memo that could potentially make millions of deportable illegal and criminal immigrants eligible for administrative amnesty. The memo was sent to the field, telling agency officials how to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” such as granting deferred action, “deciding whom to stop, question, or arrest,” deciding “who to detain,” and “dismissing” a removal proceeding. The ICE memo ordered agency officials to consider factors such as:

• ICE’s immigration enforcement priorities. However, ICE has expressed little interest in deporting illegal immigrants who have not yet been convicted of “serious” crimes.

• The illegal immigrant’s pursuit of education in the United States.  The Migration Policy Institute estimates that more than two million illegal immigrants would be eligible for amnesty under the DREAM Act.

• Whether the illegal immigrant has a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child or parent; or whether the illegal immigrant or their spouse is pregnant.  The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that illegal immigrants have four million U.S.-born and thus U.S. citizen children.

• The illegal immigrant’s length of presence in the U.S. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that millions of illegal immigrants have been in the U.S. since the 1990s.

Last year, a similar draft memo written by top officials at ICE suggested that the agency take steps to legalize illegal immigrants through deferred action or parole to an unrestricted number of illegal immigrants.

While the Administration has the power to parole illegal immigrants in the U.S. “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” the Administration is abusing this authority by encouraging the irresponsible expansion of the use of prosecutorial discretion for the purpose of administrative amnesty.

Congress is the entity in charge of setting immigration policy. By implying that immigration law should not be fully enforced, the Administration is ignoring the will of Congress and the American people through a form of backdoor amnesty.

In response, I have cosponsored the HALT (Hinder the Administration's Legalization Temptation) Act. The bill will halt any current or planned administrative actions that will result in mass legalization of illegal immigrants and that imply immigration law should not be fully enforced.

You can read an op-ed on the issue by my colleague Rep. Lamar Smith here.

Last November, Liu Xiaobo became the first Chinese citizen to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for calling on China to improve its human rights violations record. Since the announcement of Xiaobo’s award, Xiaobo has remained in prison serving out an 11-year sentence for his criticism of the government, while his wife has been under house arrest with almost no contact with the outside world.  I believe that China’s ongoing crackdown against political dissidents and their families violates fundamental, universal human rights.

Due to my concern about the ongoing violation of human rights in China and around the world, I have joined the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan House commission dedicated to promoting, defending and advocating internationally recognized human rights standards.  The Human Rights Commission regularly holds official congressional hearings addressing human rights violations.

Under the leadership of Chairman Frank Wolf (VA-10), the Human Rights Commission has brought many international human rights violations to the attention of the American public, Congress and the Administration. Congressman Wolf led the first congressional delegation to Darfur in western Sudan to bring awareness to the crisis there which was later officially declared by the U.S. government as genocide, and he has worked to address human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China, Tibet, Romania, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and the Middle East.

In particular, the commission:

·         Develops congressional strategies to promote and defend internationally recognized human rights norms;
·         Raises greater awareness of human rights issues among Members of Congress, their staff, and the public;
·         Advocates on behalf of individuals or groups whose human rights are violated or are in danger of being violated;
·         Collaborates closely with professional staff of relevant congressional committees on human rights matters;
·         Collaborates closely with the President of the United States, the Executive Branch, and recognized national and international human rights entities, in order to promote human rights initiatives in the U.S. Congress; and
·         Encourages Members of Congress to actively engage in human rights matters.

In addition to being a Member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, I also serve as the founder and co-chairman of the Congressional China Caucus, which seeks to highlight the increasingly influential role of China across the Asia Pacific.  You can learn more about the caucus and our work here.

As Benjamin Franklin left the final meeting of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he was approached by a woman who was curious as to what the new government would look like. Franklin replied, “A republic, Madam. If you can keep it.”

The Constitution creates a republican, representative form of government that is granted limited, enumerated powers in order to ensure that individual liberties and freedoms are jealously guarded.  Specifically, the 10^th Amendment states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  As a Member of Congress, I have a solemn duty to uphold these principles and to remain acutely aware of limitations to the government’s reach and power.

In support of that effort, I have joined the Congressional Constitution Caucus, which is dedicated to preserving the true intent of our Founding Fathers. This bipartisan caucus provides an educational forum regarding Constitutional principles and fosters discussion of the appropriate role of the federal government.

What steps do you think Congress should take to be reminded of its duty to uphold the principles of the Constitution and the limited nature of government?