In Another Attempt to Force Republican Leadership to Hold an Immigration Vote, Democrats Highlight 30 Republicans Who’ve Spoken Up for Reform But Refuse to Act
This morning, House Democrats announced a new strategy to force a vote on HR 15, the bipartisan immigration bill in the House, targeting 30 Republicans who are key to supporting the discharge petition on immigration reform. The Democrats will distribute member-specific memos — available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin — to districts represented by Republicans who have said they support immigration reform, yet have done nothing to move the issue forward in Congress.
As Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) said today, pointing out that enough votes in the House exist for immigration legislation to succeed: “We are providing yet another way through this memo and challenge to simply bring the bill to the floor, where it will pass.”
The disconnect between Republicans’ rhetorical support for immigration reform and their actual legislative record is vast, and given the three month deadline for legislative action put forward by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), a problem of heightened urgency for the GOP.
Several of the Republicans targeted by House Democrats were included in arecent America’s Voice scorecard assessing the immigration voting record of 12 House Republicans, including many who call themselves immigration reform supporters. As House Democrats’ memo and our scorecard shows, these House Republicans have a lot of work to do to demonstrate to the voters back home that they can deliver, and don’t just talk a good game, on immigration reform.
“If these self-proclaimed ‘pro-reform’ Republicans are really serious about moving immigration reform forward, then they should sign on to the discharge petition and stop blocking a vote on H.R. 15. It’s just that simple,” said Patty Kupfer, Managing Director of America’s Voice. “We’re pleased to see House Democrats leaning in and holding their Republican colleagues accountable on this issue. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) would be wise to take notice that his window is closing: block reform in 2014 and face the consequences from growing swaths of Latino, Asian and immigrant voters in 2016 and beyond.”
- View America’s Voice’s latest scorecard on the immigration voting record of select House Republicans HERE
