House GOP leaders hit from within

A House Republican lawmaker ripped his own leadership Friday, venting his frustrations about chamber’s lack of plans so far to bring immigration reform bills to the floor this year.

Republican Rep. Joe Heck, who represents a swing district in southern Nevada that is about 15 percent Latino, said in a statement that the lack of movement on immigration reform by the GOP leadership is “extremely frustrating and very disappointing.”

“There are bills that have passed [committees] that could be brought to the floor next week, but the House Republican leadership may punt the issue until 2014 for political reasons,” Heck said in a statement. “That’s very disappointing.”

(CARTOONS: Matt Wuerker on immigration)

In another jab at his leaders, Heck called it “yet another example of the leadership vacuum in Washington.”

Five smaller-scale immigration reform bills have passed key House committees this year, but have yet to be scheduled for floor time. At least five other bills are known to be in the works — some of which deal with the trickiest section of reform: What to do with the more than 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed a wide-ranging immigration reform bill in June, but House Republican leadership has said that legislation won’t be taken up in their chamber.

Heck was responding to a POLITICO story that detailed the House GOP leadership’s lack of plans to take up immigration reform in 2013. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters earlier this year that immigration is an “important subject that needs to be addressed” and that he was “hopeful” on a vote by the end of the year.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/1...#ixzz2ilA5oDNG

So much for this year

As I outlined in my blog post here, this is an apology letter which should be dismissed, and not before being mocked and scorned.

No matter how much Joe Heck wants us to believe it's the House GOP leaderships fault and not his that immigration reform isn't happening, he can't run from the fact that he voted for the same House GOP leadership that he now criticizes.

This should be a reminder to the immigrant community. No Republican is serious about reform, all of them want to deflect Democrat attack ads with fake gestures of openness to reform. The only significant act they have taken that affects immigration reform is voting for John Boehner, which killed immigration reform.