House Democrats released their own comprehensive immigration proposal Wednesday, hoping to put renewed pressure on the Republican majority to move forward on stalled border legislation.
But GOP aides quickly dismissed the proposal and said it was unlikely to get a vote in the chamber, reducing the bill to a symbolic attempt to keep immigration reform alive while Washington focuses on the 1
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and several colleagues unveiled the proposal at a news conference on Capitol Hill, saying Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) should put immigration legislation up for a vote by the full House before the end of the year.
“The speaker said that he would like to bring something to the floor,” Pelosi said. “We would like to see characteristics like these in his bill.”
At the White House, press secretary Jay Carney said President Obama remained focused on the sweeping bipartisan bill approved by the Senate in June that features a 13-year path to citizenship for most of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Carney declined to comment on the House Democrats’ plan, which incorporates the same citizenship component, saying he had not read the proposal.
Democrats fear that the Republican-controlled House is intent on killing momentum for immigration reform by dragging out the process. Pro-immigration advocates are planning a day of action Saturday in dozens of cities across the country, followed by an immigration rally and concert on the Mall on Tuesday. Organizers said the concert would take place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol if the federal government remains closed next week.
Some immigration proponents have applauded recent statements by key GOP leaders that they intend to move a series of smaller-scale bills onto the House floor, perhaps in late October or early November. But the decision by Pelosi and her allies, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, to pursue a new legislative strategy illustrated their growing frustration.
“We think the time is now to get this bill done,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), one of the co-sponsors.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-democrats-unveil-immigration-plan-in-hopes-of-pressuring-republicans/2013/10/02/2bef03e6-2b81-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html
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