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Eric Cantor: "I Expect Us to Move Forward This Year in Trying to Address Reform"

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An unnamed aide in Politico claims that immigration reform won’t see a vote this year–but two days ago, Majority Leader Eric Cantor himself spoke differently, saying on the House floor that he expects that immigration reform will move forward this year.  And he should know–that same day, Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) pointed out in a press conference that Cantor is that one who sets the House calendar.  “If anybody has the power to bring it to a vote it’s him,” Valadao said.

Either way, the immigration reform movement will continue to pressure the heck out of the GOP until action is taken on legislation.

Watch the clip below:

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer: “I would … ask the Majority Leader whether or not there is any thought about bringing to the Floor before the end of the year the immigration bill. And I would yield to my friend for the purposes of a response.”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor: “Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and would respond by saying that I think the gentleman knows both the Speaker and I have said that we are not going to consider the Senate bill because we object to the Senate bill, although we do want to make some progress in reforming our broken immigration system and there are plenty of bipartisan efforts under way and discussions between Members on both sides of the aisle to try and address what is broken about the immigration system. The committees are still working on this issue, and I expect us to move forward this year in trying to address reform and what is broken about our system. I yield back.”

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer: “I thank the gentleman for that information, Mr. Speaker, and I would say that of course the Senate has passed a bill in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion on immigration [reform]. And if, in fact, we bring an immigration bill to the Floor, whether I vote for it or not and we move that bill through the House, that will give us an opportunity to do what my Republican friends, Mr. Speaker, have been talking about, negotiating, sitting down, talking, going to conference. I think that would be a step forward. We are very, on this side of the aisle, very, very strongly in favor of moving immigration reform.”

Read more about why we should be optimistic–or at least not fatalistic–about the prospects of immigration reform at the New Republic.