House GOP urges Reid to drop DHS funding filibuster

House Republicans urged Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday to allow a Department of Homeland Security funding bill to move through the Senate.

A letter spearheaded by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), whose panel’s jurisdiction includes immigration policy, garnered the signatures of 169 other Republicans.

{mosads}They urged Reid to at least allow debate and amendments to the House-passed DHS funding bill, which includes language to revoke President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

Senate Democrats have blocked proceeding to the measure three times in the last month. Another vote to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed is slated for Feb. 23, when the Senate returns from recess.

“While we understand that you and many of your Democrat colleagues are opposed to the provisions in the House-passed bill that would defund President Obama’s effective rewriting of our immigration laws, you should at least support debating the merits of such an important funding bill and offer amendments to the provisions you wish to change,” the House Republicans wrote.

The House Republicans accused Reid of blocking a vote to protect centrist Senate Democrats who have expressed opposition to Obama’s executive actions.

“It is utterly appalling that you and other Senate Democrats believe that protecting the president’s unconstitutional actions is more important than funding a department tasked with keeping Americans safe,” they wrote.

“By preventing the Senate from taking up the House-passed bill, you are also denying the American people a fair debate on this issue,” the Republicans added.

Scott Wong contributed.