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Immigration Bill Clears Test Vote in Senate
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| Parent(s) |
Issue
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Jun 26, 2007 12:39pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | New York Times article.
An excerpt...
"A bill to overhaul the immigration system, all but given up for dead two weeks ago, cleared a crucial test vote in the Senate today, bolstering its chances for passage by the Senate within days.
The senators voted, 64 to 35, to invoke cloture, or move to consideration of the bill itself. Since 60 votes are required for cloture, and only 45 voted for cloture two weeks ago, the measure’s supporters were heartened by today’s vote. Had the cloture vote failed today, the bill would have been dead for the foreseeable future.
The Senate’s next step is to consider a batch of amendments, some designed to be easier on illegal immigrants, some meant to be tougher. The amendments’ differing intentions underline the fragility of the coalition behind the bill. Another make-or-break cloture vote could come before this weekend, and it is by no means certain that those who vote for cloture will vote for the bill itself.
President Bush, who supports the Senate bill, was optimistic before today’s vote and pledged that the White House would stay involved. “Our view is, if the status quo is unacceptable, we need to replace it with something that is acceptable and have been working toward that end with both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate,” he said. “We’ll be moving our attention to the House when the Senate passes a comprehensive piece of legislation.”
“I view this as an historic opportunity,” Mr. Bush said.
The president and Senate supporters of the bill say it would go a long way toward securing America’s borders, helping illegal immigrants without granting them amnesty and organizing a guest-worker program that would benefit American businesses while helping immigrants. The bill’s opponents, including many Republicans conservatives, contend that it would grant amnesty no matter what its supporters say, and would not do enough to protect security." |
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