John Boehner Blames Obama For Derailing Dream Act After He Derailed Dream Act-Style Bill
by Jennifer Bendery
06/19/2012
WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that President Barack Obama's policy change on immigration makes it less likely that Congress will be able to reach a bipartisan, final solution on the matter -- a curious claim given that Boehner snuffed out that possibility months ago.
"It puts everyone in a difficult position," Boehner said of Obama's policy change, during a scrum with reporters. "I think we all have concerns for those who are caught in this trap, who through no fault of their own are here. But the president's actions are going to make it much more difficult for us to work in a bipartisan way to get to a permanent solution."
Under the change, which took effect immediately, the administration will no longer deport undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and will begin granting work permits. The policy is along the same lines as the Dream Act, a decade-old bill that previously passed the House but failed in the Senate in 2010. Some 800,000 people are expected to come forward to receive deferred action from deportation.
Boehner's charge that Obama's move means less chance for bipartisanship in moving Dream Act legislation comes after he already quashed the idea that a Dream Act-type proposal offered by someone in his own party, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), could advance.
"The problem with this issue is that we're operating in a very hostile political environment," Boehner said in April. "To deal with a very difficult issue like this, I think it would be difficult at best."
The broader issue, though, is that Republicans have stood in the way of advancing immigration reform. Senate Republicans who previously signed on to immigration reform bills have backed away since Obama took office, and in the House, Boehner himself has chalked up Democratic efforts to build momentum on the issue as little more than politics.
Boehner said in April 2010 that an effort by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to build GOP support for an immigration bill was "nothing more than a cynical ploy to try to engage voters -- some segment of voters -- to show up in this November's elections." At the same event, Boehner said there wasn't "a chance" that Congress could tackle the issue that year and, because of Americans' focus on job creation, coming up with a solution for addressing the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country is "not where the American people are."...
For the full article, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/19/john-boehner-obama-dream-act_n_1609147.html
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