[FOR AAS]
HOW THEY VOTED
John Cornyn (R), N
Ted Cruz (R), N
———-
[FOR AJC]
HOW THEY VOTED
Johnny Isakson (R), NV*
Saxby Chambliss (R), NV*
* Apparently experiencing flight delays.
———-
[FOR OHIO]
HOW THEY VOTED
Sherrod Brown (D), NV*
Rob Portman (R), N
* Apparently experiencing flight delays.
———-
[FOR PBP]
HOW THEY VOTED
Bill Nelson (D), Y
Marco Rubio (R), Y
Historic immigration legislation cleared a key Senate hurdle with votes to spare Monday, pointing the way to near-certain passage within days for $30 billion worth of new security measures along the border with Mexico and an unprecedented chance at citizenship for millions living in the country illegally.
The vote was 67-27, seven more than the 60 needed, with 15 Republicans agreeing to advance legislation at the top of President Barack Obama’s second-term domestic agenda.
The vote came as Obama campaigned from the White House for the bill, saying, “now is the time” to overhaul an immigration system that even critics of the legislation agree needs reform.
Last-minute frustration was evident among opponents. In an unusual slap at members of his own party as well as Democrats, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said it appeared that lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle “very much want a fig leaf” on border security to justify a vote for immigration.
Senate passage Thursday or Friday would send the issue to the House, where conservative Republicans in the majority oppose citizenship for anyone living in the country illegally.
Some GOP lawmakers have appealed to Speaker John Boehner not to permit any immigration legislation to come to a vote for fear that whatever its contents, it would open the door to an unpalatable compromise with the Senate. At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee is in the midst of approving a handful of measures related to immigration, action that ordinarily is a prelude to votes in the full House.
“Now is the time to do it,” Obama said at the White House before meeting with nine business executives who support a change in immigration laws. He added, “I hope that we can get the strongest possible vote out of the Senate so that we can then move to the House and get this done before the summer break” beginning in early August.
He said the measure would be good for the economy, for business and for workers who are “oftentimes exploited at low wages.”
Opponents saw it otherwise. “It will encourage more illegal immigration and must be stopped,” Cruz exhorted supporters via email, urging them to contact their own senators with a plea to defeat the measure.
Senate officials said some changes were still possible to the bill before it leaves the Senate — alterations that would swell the vote total.
At the same time, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who voted to advance the measure during the day, said he may yet end up opposing it unless he wins a pair of changes he is seeking.
Senate Democrats were unified on the vote.
Republicans were anything on a bill that some party leaders say offers the GOP a chance to show a more welcoming face to Hispanic voters, yet tea party-aligned lawmakers assail as amnesty for those who have violated the law.
The party’s two top Senate leaders, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and John Cornyn of Texas, voted against advancing the measure. Both are seeking new terms next year.
Among potential 2016 GOP presidential contenders, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was an enthusiastic supporter of the bill, while Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky were opposed.
At its core, the legislation in the Senate would create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. It also calls for billions of dollars to be spent on manpower and technology to secure the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, including a doubling of the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents.
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