With a small group of Senators still working on an immigration reform plan, the chairman of a key Senate committee said Wednesday he does not see his panel doing anything on the controversial subject until at least May.
"Without legislative language, there is nothing for the Judiciary Committee to consider this week," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), whose panel is charged with working on both gun control legislation and immigration reform.
Leahy wanted a bill out by now so that Senators could review it during a two week Easter break, and then work on it in April.
"Now that process and our work will be delayed at least a month," said Leahy.
Leahy's announcement comes at a time when immigration reform legislation seems like it is gaining more steam among Republicans in the Congress.
"I made clear the day after the election that dealing with immigration reform was a top priority, and it is," said Speaker John Boehner, who told reporters on Tuesday that he believes a deal is within reach.
And Capitol Hill was still buzzing as well over the speech by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), where the Tea Party Republican embraced the idea of at least legal status in the U.S. for millions of illegal immigrants, stopping short of what's known as a path to citizenship.
But as of now, no one has introduced a bill with real legislative language; instead it has been bullet points and concepts.
At the White House this week, Press Secretary Jay Carney was in no rush to demand a final product out of Senate negotiators:
Q Has he (the President) identified a specific deadline by which he would like to see legislation proposed, and if not, that he will put forward --
MR. CARNEY: We have not identified a deadline. The President has said that he sees no obstacle in moving quickly. And he has encouraged the Congress to move quickly, the Senate in particular to move quickly. And there has been steady progress. The tripwire, if you will, is more about whether or not that progress is seen to have slowed or stopped. And that has not happened. In fact, the opposite is true; it seems to be continuing. And that is viewed here by the President and the rest of us as very positive.
But down Pennsylvania Avenue, Sen. Leahy definitely seemed to be looking for more direction, and a 'push' from the White House to get things moving.
"For months I have urged the President to send his proposal for comprehensive immigration reform to the Senate. I understand he has delayed releasing it at the request of a few Senators who are engaged in secret, closed door discussions on their own proposal and who committed to completing it by the beginning of March. That deadline and others have come and gone.
"I have said since the beginning of the year that I was looking forward to seeing principles turned into legislation. I am encouraged that after two resounding presidential defeats, some Republican politicians are concerned enough about the growing Hispanic voting population that they are abandoning their former demagoguery and coming to the table. In what is being called its "autopsy" of the last election, the Republican National Committee wrote that "Hispanic voters tell us our Party's position on immigration has become a litmus test, measuring whether we are meeting them with a welcome mat or a closed door." After slamming the door on our efforts for comprehensive immigration reform during the Bush administration, I welcome Republicans to this effort. While I still worry that too many continue to oppose a straightforward pathway to citizenship, that is a discussion we need to have out in the open, in front of the American people.
"Without legislative language, there is nothing for the Judiciary Committee to consider this week at our mark up. The upcoming recess period would have allowed all Members of the Committee and the American people to review the legislation. Now that process and our work will be delayed at least a month."
With a small group of Senators still working on an immigration reform plan, the chairman of a key Senate committee said Wednesday he does not see his panel doing anything on the controversial subject until at least May. "Without legislative language, there is nothing for the Judiciary Committee to consider ...
