Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated Wednesday that immigration reform legislation could be coming to the Senate floor sooner than expected.
After objecting to an amendment from Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley regarding immigration, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explained that there would be time in the “near” future for work on immigration.
“[T]he good news is that within the very near, foreseeable future — hopefully I can start it in that next work period because, we are going to start immigration legislation here on the floor,” Reid said. “We are finally going to be able to move to something that would include issues that people wanted to deal with for a long time. So I say to my friend, I object, but I understand how he feels about the issue.”
That next work period Reid was referring to is slated for April 8-26, and such a move with that short of notice would mean an expedited committee process, or could mean the committee process is bypassed altogether. But in recent days, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee had warned Democratic committee chairman Pat Leahy and Reid against such tactic and encouraged them to slow the process down.
A Republican Senate staffer explained to The Daily Caller that Reid’s remarks indicated that the Democratic leadership may not heed the GOP’s warnings. This would not be the first time Democrats’ have attempted to rush legislation over Republican objections: A similar legislative tactic was employed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to pass the health care reform legislation in 2009.