“This shell game makes it nearly impossible for members of this body, and their constituents, to properly review and consider the legislation prior to a vote,”

Politico

Jeff Sessions: DREAM Act needs vetting

By SCOTT WONG

Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions urged his Senate colleagues Thursday to block a lame-duck attempt to pass the DREAM Act, warning that new versions of the immigration bill haven’t received proper scrutiny.

In the “Dear Colleague” letter obtained by POLITICO, Sessions lamented that Democratic leaders have rolled out three Senate versions of the bill in the past two weeks, bringing the total to four. A fifth was included in a sweeping immigration reform bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the chamber’s only Hispanic member.

None of the bills has been reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee or undergone a cost analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, wrote Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

“This shell game makes it nearly impossible for members of this body, and their constituents, to properly review and consider the legislation prior to a vote,” he said. “It is an abuse of the process and on that basis alone members ought to oppose cloture.”

The legislation is “poorly drafted, filled with loopholes, and, by rewarding illegal behavior, will encourage future illegal immigration,” he added.

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