While Republicans in the Senate have vowed to block all legislation in the Senate chamber until a decision is made on the federal budget and the Bush tax cuts, Democrats in the House of Representatives indicate that they will continue to move forward on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s DREAM Act legislation.
Earlier this week, all 42 Republican Senators addressed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asserting that they would block any legislation until Congress funds the federal government and addresses the expiring Bush tax cuts.
The GOP’s demands certainly pose a problem for the passage of the DREAM Act or the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the Senate, but Democrats in the House are free to move forward.
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In response to the GOP Senators’ assertions, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer explained that the House is still planning to vote on Reid’s immigration bill — one that provides virtually blanket amnesty to illegal aliens and their families.
The GOP filibuster on all legislation “is the Senate’s position, and that will not freeze us in place doing things that we can do in the House of Representatives that we think are important to do,” states Hoyer.
Hoyer’s remarks contradict statements made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier in the year, who indicated that the House would wait to take action on the immigration bill until after the Senate voted on it.
However, Pelosi’s remarks were inspired by concerns over making difficult pre-election decisions. With the election over, the House is prepared to take up the legislation.
Hoyer states that a House vote on the DREAM Act is possible as early as next week.
The DREAM Act is Reid’s top priority, and he is working to ensure passage of the bill by filing four different version of the legislation. The differences between most versions are minute, though the most recent adaptation includes measures that may make the bill more appealing to opposition, including requirements for background checks, submission of biometric information, and the prerequisite that the illegals applying for citizenship under the act must join the armed forces, not simply the uniformed forces.
Despite the concessions made in the newest version of the DREAM Act, Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions continues to criticize the bill as backdoor amnesty, contending that the act ultimately awards lawbreakers and is ultimately one of the “rewards” Obama promised his supporters in the midterm elections.
Sessions declares that he will see to it that the legislation fails. “Because this is a lame-duck Congress, it will not pass next year, and it’s not going to pass this year if I have anything to do about it.”
Congressional Quarterly states that Hispanic groups have launched a “fierce campaign” to help pass the legislation, “including demonstrations, rallies, and civil disobedience.” In addition to Hispanic organizations, the DREAM Act finds support in President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Meanwhile, the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that the bill will cost $6.2 billion to pay for the college education of beneficiaries.
Steven Camarota of the Center questions the federal government’s grip on reality: “How are they going to accommodate roughly one million people when they are already overcrowded and can’t accommodate the people who want to come?”
William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, is encouraging Americans to “get on the phones … call all congressional offices, and fill the voicemails” so that the DREAM Act can be stopped.
According to Gheen, “We believe that they have the votes in the House — and they’re very close to having the votes in the Senate. And at this point, the only thing that can stop 3 to 20 million illegal immigrants from becoming a new voting bloc that will displace millions of American students, workers, and voters, is a historic and unprecedented backlash from the public.”
Rosemary Jenks, government relations director to NumbersUSA, an organization that lobbies for stricter immigration limits, calls the DREAM Act the Democrats’ “last chance at amnesty.”
