I find the behavior of the Obama Administration and the Congressional Democratic Leadership to be partisan and dictatorial. Their refusal to keep the American worker and E-Verify protections in the economic stimulus package is repulsive.
The House of Representatives passed, by unanimous consent, two amendments which would have reserved stimulus-created jobs for American and legal immigrant workers. The Congressional Democratic Leadership and the White House saw fit to remove these American worker protections in the Committee. One can only assume that they believe that illegal alien workers should have equal access to these stimulus-created jobs.
Rep. Ken Calvert, the sponsor of one of the House amendments, said, Tonight, behind closed doors with no input from House Republicans, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid crafted the so-called compromise on the stimulus bill. What we now know is that while billions of American taxpayer dollars are going to be spent, there is no assurance that the jobs created will go to American workers. The two amendments that had been accepted by the House Appropriations Committee were stripped without discussion or debate.
I find this behavior to be despicable. Resident Obama promised a new era of open and honest government, but it seems that neither the Democratic Leadership nor his administration received the message.
Even though you did have some say in the final makeup of the bill, I know you are not responsible for the removal of the American worker protections — the odds were simply to stiff. However, I am disappointed that you did not signal more strongly your opposition to a stimulus bill without these American worker protections.
Phone me if you would like to talk about this,
Mr. Greg Raven
P.S. We need to practice autarky if we are to get out of this economic mess.
