Letter Makes it Clear: the Votes Are There
Today, 34 House Republicans released a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan calling for a “permanent legislative solution” for DACA recipients before the end of this year. The following is a statement from Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice Education Fund:
Protecting Dreamers and living up to America’s values and interests should not be a partisan issue. Good for these 34 House Republicans for standing up for Dreamers and reminding us that there are strong majorities that exist in both congressional chambers and across America for protecting Dreamers this year.
It only takes 24 House Republicans to side with the 193 Democrats in the House in order to get to the necessary majority of votes to pass legislation in the House. With today’s letter, it’s clear that the votes are there to resolve Dreamers’ crisis before the end of the year. And yes, this is a crisis. Dreamers need relief urgently and now, not some vague promise about standalone legislation at some point down the road.
Now the attention turns to Speaker Ryan. Will he side with these 34 members who want to get something done, who vote for spending bills and whose elections in 2018 will determine if the GOP maintains a House majority? Or will Ryan side with the contingent of House Republicans who reject anything positive for immigrants, vote no on just about every spending bill and are prone to plot palace coups against Republican leaders? The choice is clear. The country is watching. So is history.