Roundup: U.S. Senate to kick off floor debate over immigration reform
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E-mail Xinhua, June 12, 2013
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday cleared a major procedural hurdle for the comprehensive immigration reform bill to be considered on the full Senate level, which will kick off a weeks-long floor debate on the issue.
The Senate voted 82-15 on Tuesday afternoon to end debate on a motion to proceed to the comprehensive immigration reform bill. Shortly later, the Senators voted 84-15 to proceed to the bill, which will launch the weeks-long floor debate on immigration reform.
The overwhelming votes appeared to show strong momentum of the bipartisan lawmakers to move forward on the issue of immigration overhaul.
Republicans called for changes to the bill, including further strengthening the border security measures and restricting federal benefits for immigrants with provisional legal status.
"I'll vote to debate it and for the opportunity to amend it, but in the days ahead there will need to be major changes to this bill if it's going to become law,"McConnell said before the vote.
Earlier in the day, Speaker John Boehner said that immigration reform would become law by year's end but called for certain changes to the bill.
Many Republicans supported an amendment sponsored that would require 100 percent monitoring capability and a 90 percent apprehension rate of illegal entrants along the southern border before granting permanent legal status to 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned that the amendment could be "a poison pill" to the entire bill.
Earlier in the morning, President Barack Obama sought to rally support and revive moment for the immigration overhaul before the Senate votes.
Speaking at the White House, Obama said "moment is now" for the lawmakers to move forward on the immigration reform.
"This week, the Senate will consider a common-sense, bipartisan bill that is the best chance we've had in years to fix our broken immigration system," said the president.
Obama noted that the Senate bipartisan group came up with the bill through months of work and compromise, and the Senate Judiciary Committee had held "numerous hearings."
"If you genuinely believe we need to fix our broken immigration system, there's no good reason to stand in the way of this bill," said he.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said last week he hoped to finish voting on the bill before the July 4 holiday recess.
The Senate bill was unveiled in April by the bipartisan group of Senators, dubbed as "Gang of Eight," and has so far received the most attention nationwide.
Even if it passes the Democrats-controlled Senate, the bill will still have a longer and tougher way to go in the Republicans- dominated House.
Both the Senate bipartisan group's proposals and the president' s own goals include giving an earned citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country, as well as awarding green cards to foreign high-skilled workers.
The White House has also tried to keep focus on Obama's second- term agenda, while major controversies have dominated the headlines in recent weeks, including the National Security Agency' s secret surveillance programs and the International Revenue Service's targeting conservative political groups. Endi
