Senate Abandons Work on Immigration Reform Bill - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

On June 7, the Senate halted its consideration of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (S. 1348) after rejecting, 45-50, a cloture motion to end debate on the bill, the third cloture vote of the day. The Senate began debate on S. 1348 before the Memorial Day recess (see The Source, 5/25/07). It is unclear when the Senate will revisit the measure.

During consideration of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate adopted the following amendments:

an amendment by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to prevent temporary guest workers or illegal immigrants given status under the bill from claiming the earned income tax credit (EITC) until they become legal permanent residents, 56-41;
an amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to sunset the temporary guest worker program after five years, 49-48;
an amendment by Sens. John Kyl (R-AZ) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to modify the allocation of visas with respect to the backlog of family-based visa petitions, 51-45; and
an amendment by Sen. Reid to clarify that illegal immigrants are ineligible to claim the EITC, 57-40.The Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint, 43-55, that would have required illegal immigrants to commit to maintain minimum levels of health care coverage.
The Senate also rejected two amendments on a point of order for failing to comply with the PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) provisions of the FY2008 budget resolution that require any new mandatory spending or tax cuts to be offset by mandatory spending reductions or revenue increases:
an amendment by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to reclassify spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives, 44-53; and
an amendment by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to modify the family backlog reduction deadline for those currently awaiting visas, 53-44.