Senate Kills Immigration Bill; For Now
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hoped to scramble enough support to pass an immigration reform bill during a second test vote expected Thursday evening, vowing to try to get it through the Senate despite a morning vote that failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate and get to final passage.
Republicans stuck together to block an end to debate, 33-63. They opposed the measure because it would have prevented Republican amendments from being offered.
"It’s certainly not my goal to not get this bill to passage, provided we have fair treatment on this side of the aisle," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
"If we can't do this then we ought to vote to dissolve the Congress and go home till a new Congress," said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., who added that he's getting calls from constituents upset that Congress can't pass an immigration reform bill.
Reid said he too did not want to give up on compromise legislation. "This is a bill that we have pushed it down the road a long ways, and I hope we can finish it," he said on the Senate floor before the morning vote.
Some senators are holding out hope that they can save the bill after it barely survived a deal-breaking challenge in an overnight vote. The legislation would address the 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States, temporary workers and border security.
This thing needs to be thrown in the garbage and a new one constructed. What is so hard about securing the border first? When the border is secured as best it can be, then they can debate what to do with the illegals here. It's not rocket science.
While they're arguing on which illegal can become a citizen, hundreds are running across a porous border.
