Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to reassure Democrats in his chamber Thursday that a vote for this funding bill would let the Senate move on to debate next week on immigration reform legislation.
“Based on my continued conversations with the Republican leader, once we pass this budget agreement, we are ready to proceed to a neutral bill – shell bill – on immigration next week,” the New York Democrat said in a floor speech Thursday.
And in one of the final acts before adjourning early Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved to begin debate on the immigration issue on Monday.
But Schumer’s counterpart on the other side of the Capitol, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, said during a record-breaking eight-hour speech Wednesday that she would not vote for the budget deal until the GOP leadership in the House promised to bring immigration reform up for a vote.
House Speaker Paul Ryan echoed Schumer, saying at a news conference Thursday that the budget has to be approved before discussion can begin on immigration – a problem he said members on both sides of the aisle want to solve.
“We will bring a (DACA) solution to the floor, one that the president will sign,” Ryan said. “We must pass this budget agreement first though, so that we can get on to that.”
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