Reid to delay Senate vote on DREAM Act
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday said he would delay a vote on immigration legislation known as the DREAM Act, a move viewed as an attempt to boost the bill’s chances of winning bipartisan support and speed up the process as lawmakers scramble to finish business before the end of the year.
Reid, who made a vote on the bill a top priority of the lame-duck session, did not say when the vote would be rescheduled, but suggested he would wait until after lawmakers agree on a tax package.
Republicans have promised to block all legislation until a deal on the tax cut is made. That has left the DREAM Act, which once won significant support from both parties, likely to come up shy of the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.
The bill offers a path to citizenship for some college students and military service members who came to the U.S. before they turned 16 and have lived in the country for five years.
The similar version of the bill narrowly passed the House late Wednesday night. Reid sought to bring the House version of the bill to the Senate floor on Thursday -- a move that would simplify the legislative process -- but was block by GOP objections.
“They’re not willing to do any legislative business, which I think is untoward and unnecessary and unfair, but that’s where we are,” Reid said on the Senate floor Thursday.
Advocates hoped the delay would give them more time to pressure GOP senators who on are on the fence.
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