WASHINGTON - On Monday night, the Senate voted for the amendment to the immigration reform bill that would bolster border security.The proposed amendment, drawn up by Republican Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota (pictured), would add almost 20,000 border agents and would 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. This would cost almost $40 billion, but since the Congressional Budget Office declared that immigration reform would cut the deficit by almost a trillion dollars, the money was not the issue.
“I think that we’re on track to move the bill forward and then remember, it’s got to go to the House,” Mr. Hoeven said. “There’s more work to be done, but we’re working on it, we’re making progress — more to do — but we want to continue to improve it in the Senate and likewise in the House.”
The amendment passed by a vote of 67-27, avoiding any filibuster. “The bill has been improved dramatically tonight by this vote, there’s no question,” Mr. Corker said. “Hopefully there will be other improvements made with other amendments, and my sense is we’re going to pass an immigration bill out of the United States Senate, which will be no doubt historic.”
Some hopefuls think that this will be the biggest hurdle in the immigration reform project, and that now that the Republicans have been appeased, both parties will be able to work together more easily.
The vote was procedural, though; the Senate voted to stop debate on the amendment and must still vote to formally pass it in the next few days.
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