To chants of “Si se puede” (Spanish for President Obama’s “Yes, we can!” campaign slogan), the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the S. 744 immigration bill out of committee Tuesday on a 13-to-5 vote. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, were the only Republicans who voted with the Democrats for the bill. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is expected to take up the bill on the Senate floor after the Memorial Day recess.
And S. 744 is all but guaranteed to get a quick up-or-down vote, despite the fact that the Congressional Budget Office still has not produced a cost estimate of the legislation. Hours before final passage, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters he had no plan of stopping the bill from proceeding to the floor. “So far, I’m told that the Judiciary Committee hasn’t in any fundamental way undone the agreements that were agreed by the eight senators,” McConnell said. “So, I’m hopeful we can get a bill that we can pass here in the Senate.”
