Rep. Veasey DACA Amendment Passes by Bipartisan Vote

Washington, D.C. —Congressman Veasey, TX-33, member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), offered five amendments that passed during markup of the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2016. Notably, Veasey's amendment to evaluate how recent Executive Actions regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program and prosecutorial discretion for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. impacts our nation's military readiness if these individuals are made eligible for enlistment, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote.

Congressman Veasey expresses his sincere appreciation to his colleagues and friends on both sides of the aisle of HASC that voted in favor of his amendments, especially to Chairman Mac Thornberry, TX-13, Ranking Member Adam Smith, WA-9, and their staff for having run a professional and cordial sixteen hour marathon markup that demonstrates the true spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation when working together in good faith.

Congressman Veasey's prepared remarks for the House Armed Services Committee markup on the ‘DACA Impact on Military Readiness' amendment are below:

"Regardless of your thoughts on immigration or President Obama's executive actions on immigration to allow DREAMER's to stay in the U.S. legally, we should all agree that evaluating the impact of these policies on our military readiness is important information for this committee to be aware of.

Recently, Defense Secretary Carter stated that our military has to recruit approximately 250,000 people a year just to keep up with the pace of those who retire or leave the service to pursue jobs and educational opportunities in the civilian sector.

To further exacerbate our nation's recruitment demand, reports find that only about a third of 21 million Americans between the ages of 17 and 21 are even eligible to join the military due to entrance examinations, physical fitness, and character standard requirements.

I cannot fathom that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle would allow our committee to shortchange our military by preventing talented young men and women from joining its ranks.

That is why my amendment will direct the Secretary of Defense to evaluate how recent Executive Actions regarding Deferred Action and prosecutorial discretion for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. may impact the ability of the Department of Defense to recruit new military enlistments.

While I support President Obama's executive actions on immigration, this amendment does not make any judgements or assert any opinions but only requires our Defense Department to objectively evaluate how current policies could impact military readiness.

I urge the committee to accept this amendment and I reserve the balance of my time."

The full text of Congressman Veasey's ‘DACA Impact on Military Readiness' amendment for the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act is listed below:

Amendment Offered by Rep. Marc Veasey

H.R. 1735-National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016

In the appropriate place in the report, insert the following:

DACA Impact on Military Readiness

The Committee is concerned with the increasing challenge of recruiting eligible people to enlist in the military and believes an evaluation of how recent Executive Actions regarding Deferred Action and prosecutorial discretion for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. may impact the ability of the Department of Defense to recruit new military enlistments. Therefore, the Committee directs the Secretary of Defense to evaluate whether allowing those who are considered Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals could expand the pool of potential recruits, and an estimation of how making eligible for enlistment of DACA applicants would impact military readiness. The Secretary of Defense shall provide the results of the evaluation in a briefing to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representative no later than December 1, 2015.