Pelosi Wants To Include More On Democrats’ Massive Spending Bill With No Republican Support
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the $3.5 trillion spending bill that Democrats are looking to pass without any Republican support, should also include immigration reform.
The top House Democrat said Friday that the sweeping, multi trillion-dollar spending measure must include a pathway to citizenship for roughly 3.6 million so-called “Dreamer” immigrants as well as those with Temporary Protected Status, essential workers and farmworkers in the country.
“I do believe that immigration should be in the reconciliation, some piece of that, in the reconciliation,” Pelosi said in an interview with reporters Friday.
“We know we have a very good case for this to be included,” she added.
Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children or before their 18th birthday and are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Pelosi on DACA/immigration potentially being part of infrastructure bill: To qualify for a being included in a reconciliation bill, the proposal has to have an impact on the budget. We have clear numbers to that effect..we know we have a very good case for this to be included.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 30, 2021
The immigration provisions that Pelosi mentioned would be included in the approximately $3.5 trillion plan that Democrats are still in the process of negotiating.
While the legislation’s details are yet unknown, it’s largely expected to invest billions in an array of planned health, education, environment, and social initiatives as Democrats aim to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster by using the procedural technique known as budget reconciliation.
Pelosi’s remarks came after a meeting this week between President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democratic lawmakers to discuss the next steps in establishing a pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants in the country.
Immigration reform emerged as a critical point in the reconciliation talks, with many Democrats threatening to vote no on the budget measure unless immigration reforms are included.
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois noted that following their meeting with Biden, the Democratic president made it “unequivocally clear” that “he’s with us” and that the chief executive is also backing the inclusion of immigration in the budget bill.
I have tried for many years to pass bipartisan immigration reform through regular order. Senate Republicans have stonewalled those efforts at every turn.
Due to their repeated obstructionism, reconciliation has become the only viable pathway to finally getting this done. pic.twitter.com/1xSmzI2snQ
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) July 30, 2021
Last night I had the chance to meet with @POTUS for a discussion on immigration. I made it clear that I believe the only viable option to meaningful immigration reform is through the reconciliation bill—and I will work day and night to make it a reality.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) July 30, 2021
Meanwhile, Biden noted that the meeting with top Democrats from both the House and the Senate “went very well.”
Still, it remains uncertain if the said immigration reform would be supported by the Senate parliamentarian, an impartial referee who decides which provisions may be included in a reconciliation measure.
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