House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday the effort to force a vote on immigration reform would produce a bill that he doesn’t support and cannot become law.
“I don’t want to have show ponies,” said Ryan, R-Wis. “I want to have actual laws. That means the president has to be part of this and it has to be a bill the president will sign.”
Lawmakers from both parties are trying to gather 218 signatures on a discharge petition. If the required number of signatures is reached the proponents would be able to call up votes on four immigration reform proposals, some moderate and some conservative.
The move would circumvent the GOP leadership, which normally controls the floor agenda.
Ryan said Thursday the effort would essentially give control of the floor to the Democrats, who outnumber the GOP when it comes to wanting a vote on immigration reform.
“We never want to turn the floor over to the minority,” Ryan said. “And what I don’t want to do is have a process that just ends up with a veto.”
A group of Republican proponents pushing for signatures has been lobbying for additional GOP signers before bringing on Democrats. But it’s likely more Democrats than GOP lawmakers will back the idea of holding a debate and vote on immigration reform with the midterm election just months away.
One GOP lawmaker told the Washington Examiner the discharge petition could easily gain 250 signatures with Democratic support.
Discharge petitions are rarely successful and only two have forced floor votes since 2002.
Ryan said he is in favor of holding an immigration vote before the midterm election but did not specify which plan he would support. Instead, he argued there is no agreement yet that can clear Congress and become law.
