National Journal reports, “It was the congressional version of Fight Club: a bipartisan group of lawmakers working in secret to draft immigration reform legislation … waiting for the right time to dust it off. So when immigration reform gained bipartisan momentum after the Presidential election, this group came out of the shadows and GOP House Speaker John Boehner said the group basically had a deal. The House had an opportunity to lead. But that’s not going to happen. Sure, the House will likely hold hearings and markups, and maybe even offer the bipartisan bill, but they’re not going first. House Republican leadership thinks immigration will likely fail in the Senate, and they’re not wild about the idea of making their members take a politically tough vote only to have reform die. So despite being light years ahead of the Senate, the House is unlikely to lead.”
11
Feb 2013