UPDATED: McSally, Outgoing House Leadership Today Revive "Border Jobs For Veterans Act" They Aborted To Placate Conservatives 1 1/2 Weeks Ago; Passes 410-0

(UPDATE, 4:15pm: The House passed the Act this evening, 410-0. Rep. McSally emailed a news release - reproduced at bottom - giving a shout-out to Sen. Flake and including a quote from him. The bill now goes back to the Senate for a (second) vote.)

Arizona Rep. Martha McSally (R-CD2) and the outgoing House leadership are reviving the non-controversial "Border Jobs For Veterans Act" that they helped abort 1 1/2 weeks ago as part of the effort to avert a Planned Parenthood-related government shutdown.

McSally is the primary sponsor of the House version of the Border Jobs For Veterans Act. Three Arizona colleagues - Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-CD7), Paul Gosar (R-CD4) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) - are among the 17 bi-partisan co-sponsors of the measure that passed on a voice vote in the Senate earlier this month.

The measure -  sponsored by Arizona Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was sent to the House, where - as Arizona's Politics reported - it was gutted and replaced with the "Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act", sponsored by Arizona Rep. Trent Franks (R-CD8). The House leadership pushed it to the Floor without any committee action, as part of a two-measure package giving House members a chance to vote for punishing Planned Parenthood and threatening employees at abortion clinics with five years prison time.  The measures passed the House on largely party line votes.

While Arizona's Politics pushed Congressional offices last week for answers on how the House GOP came to vote against border security and jobs for veterans in favor of a symbolic pro-life vote, McSally's "related measure" was quickly (i.e. without committee action, aka not in regular order) put on the calendar.

McSally's Communications Director Patrick Ptak tells Arizona's Politics (by email) that McSally's office had been in contact with both House leadership and her Senate counterparts (e.g. Flake's office) regarding the bill. He adds that "we’re happy to see it come to the floor today."

Assuming it is passed by the House today, it will have to again be voted on by the Senate before reaching the President's desk.

(Rep. McSally's news release upon House passage:)

  McSally News Release - Border Jobs For Veterans

Arizona's Politics published the text of the Senate bill (identical to McSally's House companion) here.

  Bill Text Born Alive Survivors - 114th Congress - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

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