Friday, July 4, 2025

Now, For My Next Trick...

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) has passed through Congress and will be signed this day, July 4, into law by President Donald Trump.  While the bill might not be totally beautiful, it is certainly a step in the right direction towards reorienting our government to a better place. 

 

I experienced a heavy case of Déjà Vu as I watched every single Democrat in the Senate and House vote against this legislation.  It took me back to March of 2010, when the House of Representatives passed the Senate version of the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare) without a single Republican vote.  This was the infamous bill that prompted Nancy Pelosi to remark “we have to pass it to find out what’s in it”.  Without a doubt, the same principle applies to the OBBB inasmuch as few, if any, elected Congress members know what is contained in all 900-plus pages of the legislation.  This, my friends, is how sausage is made in Washington, DC.

 

Without jumping into the weeds that are way over my head, I will simply say that one…this was critically necessary legislation that had to pass in this fashion in order to become reality and two…for all the rhetoric about savings and cutting the size of government, this bill was mainly about the spending priorities that would rule the future appropriations of our tax dollars.  We can only hope that in the near future, subsequent legislation will be considered and passed that will address the pervasive bloat and fiscal gluttony of our annual federal budget…driven mainly by out-of-control entitlements that both political parties are too cowardly to address.

 

While recognizing the monumental heavy lifting performed by the Trump Administration, John Thune and his Senate Republicans (excepting three), and Mike Johnson with his House Republicans (excepting two), this action of addressing federal spending priorities is only half of the equation.  They must now seek to accomplish additional and remarkable legislative achievements in future bills.  Additionally, the details of the OBBB must be codified in the upcoming twelve federal appropriation bills.  The OBBB is a great start and kudos are deserved; but the time for celebration should be short, the pencils should be sharpened, and the size of our government and how it operates must soon be addressed to complete the conservative promises made by so many Republican candidates.  The window of opportunity for President Trump and Republican control of Congress is limited…time is of the essence. 

 

For the sake of discussion, I want to propose the next big issue (subordinate to the overriding concerns of federal fiscal performance) that I feel should be addressed by our government.  That issue would be national immigration policy reform.  In short order, and to the surprise of most people, the Trump Administration has secured our borders and brought that specific area of government responsibility under control.  The sensible OBBB investments in the Department of Homeland Security should help guarantee this far into the future.  But the elephant in the room is the 10-20 million illegal aliens that have entered our nation under the four years of President Joe Biden’s open border policies.  The bleeding has been staunched, but we must now heal the wound.

 

The low hanging fruit of this issue are the criminal elements of our illegal alien populace.  A large majority of Americans understands and agrees that they should be removed from our country.  And while there is serious disagreement about how that removal should be implemented, the removal itself is a foregone conclusion.  It appears that this issue is…through legal fits and starts…working itself out.  The larger and more complex question is how do we deal with the significant portion of those 10-20 million illegal immigrants who do not have a criminal record? 

 

The issue of birthright citizenship aside, the fact is that many of the remaining portions of immigrants have not been in America for very long and have not established either a career, family, or home in these United States.  One would expect that the overwhelming majority of these folks live in the shadow of knowing their status is illegal and is facing the hard choice of either self-deporting or continuing to hide from government entities charged with their incarceration and deportation.  While some of these work and pay taxes, many others are enjoying municipal/state/federal benefits while contributing little, if anything, to our federal treasury.  Once again…this issue will work itself out through fits and starts.  The process is in play.

 

The segment of our illegal immigrant population that merits the most thoughtful and difficult-to-reach remedy are the ones who have been in these United States for decades and have not applied for or obtained legal citizenship. Many of these people are essentially threads in the societal and cultural fabrics that make up our cities, towns, and communities.  While a valid argument can be made that they should have long ago actively sought legal status and proactively moved in that direction, the reality is that they did not and have yet proven themselves to be good neighbors and worthy members of our nation’s collective.  It is true that their illegal status is an affront to those other immigrants who responsibly applied for and completed the necessary actions to achieve legal citizen status; but once again…that argument is far enough removed from the present as to be impractical.  What is the time period we should require for this class of immigrants to have completed in order to receive special consideration?  Would it be 10 years…15 years…perhaps even more?  I don’t know the answer to this question, but I firmly believe that it must be asked…and answered.  The elements of compassion and human consideration cannot be removed from this calculus that pertains to legality and simple justice.

 

That answer will lie in comprehensive national immigration reform legislation.  By any reasonable measure, this legislation should be bi-partisan and apolitical in its conception.  Is this even possible in today’s poisonous political environment?  This I do not know.  In June of 2013, early in Obama’s second term, the Senate managed to pass an immigration reform bill on a bi-partisan vote: https://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/immigration-bill-2013-senate-passes-093530 .  The bill then moved over to the Republican-controlled House where it died.  The Senate bill simply did not address many of the concerns held by U.S. Representatives.  Notwithstanding the merits of this particular bill, this episode demonstrated that compromise was possible between the Democrat’s concern with pathways to citizenship and the Republican concerns with border security and illegal status. 

 

Here is a comprehensive summary of that 2013 legislation: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/guide-s744-understanding-2013-senate-immigration-bill/ .  If nothing else, it provides a draft blueprint to begin once again the effort to reform, revise, and bring our nation’s national immigration policy up to a standard that will responsibly, effectively, humanely, and equitably address the complex issue of illegal immigrants both entering and residing in our nation today. 

 

Like all national issues of import, this area of governance contains the elements of political demagoguery and hypocrisy.  It will take courage and statesmanship by both political parties in order to achieve a positive outcome.  It will also require a president who is willing to stake a good portion of his or her legacy on the outcome of such impactful legislation.  I fervently hope that Donald Trump and the members of Congress are willing to confront this issue and bring some semblance of order and reasonableness to the festering issue of illegal immigration in America today.  It is interesting to note that the mentioned Senate bill from 2013 had as one of its Republican co-sponsors none other than Marco Rubio…the current Secretary of State serving President Donald Trump.

 

The context of the OBBB was almost entirely domestic in nature.  Of course, our President must simultaneously deal with foreign affair issues on a 24/7 basis.  That is another area that needed course-correcting action and is now being addressed.

 

https://americanmind.org/memo/a-foreign-policy-for-americas-golden-age/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/07/what-an-america-first-foreign-policy-looks-like.php

 

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2025/06/29/five_errors_irans_war_on_israel_america_and_west_152970.html

 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21725/qatar-role-gaza

 

https://justthenews.com/government/security/chinese-military-tied-company-appears-be-hiring-ford-battery-plant-company-says

 

Education…Education…Education

 

https://americanmind.org/memo/a-student-visa-policy-that-puts-america-first/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-addiction-to-federal-research-money-has-cost-universities-their-independence/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/07/a-blow-to-trans-insanity-a-victory-for-common-sense/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/is-the-higher-ed-industry-good-for-america/

 

Reality Bites: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/how-trump-s-big-spending-bill-will-overhaul-repayment-for-millions-of-student-loan-borrowers/ar-AA1HXbVa?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6cbae7344bb846bfad52a2fe06c0f169&ei=135

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/transferring-college-credits-shouldnt-be-so-hard/

 

A quick note on the SCOTUS…

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/a-strong-finish-to-a-transformative-term/

 

A quick note on the Federal Reserve…

 

https://lawliberty.org/duplicity-at-the-fed/

 

A quick note on national health care issues…

 

https://americanmind.org/memo/how-to-replace-obamacare/

 

A quick note on the filthy corruption that existed within the Obama and Biden Administrations…

 

https://nypost.com/2025/07/02/us-news/obamas-trump-russia-collusion-report-was-corrupt-from-start-cia-review/

 

 

 

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Now, For My Next Trick...

The One Big Beautiful Bill ( OBBB ) has passed through Congress and will be signed this day, July 4, into law by President Donald Trump.   W...