June 28, 2007

Cloture Vote Kills Immigration Bill

UPDATED.

The Senate failed to pass a cloture motion this morning to limit debate and proceed to consideration of the immigration reform bill. As promised, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pulled the measure from the floor, dashing the White House's hopes that a compromise on immigration reform could be reached by the end of the year.

Senators voted 53 to 46 against cloture; 60 votes in favor were needed to move forward.

Immediately following the vote tally, Reid acknowledged that "the vote is really disheartening to me in many ways," but praised the bipartisan efforts that led to the initial compromise and expressed hope for the bill's future. "This is a legislative issue that will come back. It's only a question of when," he said. "Hopefully a lesson we've all learned is that we have to work more closely together, and I hope we can do that."

In a brief statement following the bill's defeat, President Bush said he was disappointed in Congress' "failure to act" on the measure. "Congress really needs to prove to the American people that it can come together on hard issues," he added.

AP and CNN have senators' reactions to the failed vote.

Posted at 1:24 PM
Posted to: Congress, Immigration, Senate
Share via