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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Sunday that the National Riffle Association (NRA) “shames itself” by misleading the public and blocking gun control reforms.

Blumenthal was reacting to comments made by NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre over the weekend. 

“Yesterday, when NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said of the organization’s critics 'let them be damned,' he was talking to 90 percent of Americans who support criminal background checks and other common sense gun violence prevention measures,” Blumenthal said Sunday. “His remarks disgrace the organization and its members — most of them supporters of expanding background checks.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told his constituents Wednesday that he would “do everything in my power” to get a comprehensive immigration reform bill “across the finish line.”

“I pledge that I will do everything in my power as Majority Leader to get a bill across the finish line,” Reid said Wednesday. “Nothing short of success is acceptable to me.

“For your sake, it’s time to pass immigration reform. And for the sake of every American, it’s time to pass immigration reform.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill is “not living up” to the promise that no illegal immigrants will have access to public benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps.

“The Gang of Eight made a promise that illegal immigrants will not be able to access public benefits,” Sessions said Tuesday. “We already know that, once granted green cards and ultimately citizenship, illegal immigrants will be able to access all public benefit programs at a great cost to taxpayers.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) challenged critics of his immigration reform bill to put forward ideas to improve it.

“If you disagree, change it. Let’s work on changing it,” Rubio said on the Senate floor Thursday. “Don’t just be against it, offer ideas to change it.

“Don’t view it as something being shoved down your throat, it’s not. You can change it.”

The Senate observed a moment of silence Monday for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced that at 2:50 p.m. on Monday the Senate would honor the victims and their families.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) defended the Gang of Eight immigration reform plan, saying doing nothing is a form of “amnesty.”

“America is a nation of immigrants, but both Republicans and Democrats have failed to enforce our immigration laws,” Rubio said on the Senate floor Thursday. “We all wish we didn’t have this problem, but we do — and leaving it the way it is, is amnesty.”

The Senate stayed in session early into Wednesday morning in order to allow senators to introduce comprehensive immigration reforms.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Gang of Eight, introduced a comprehensive immigration reform package shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Sunday that the “Gang of Eight” immigration reform plan puts amnesty ahead of enforcing immigration laws.

“When the Gang of Eight was first formed a publicly stated principle was the enforcement would come first — before legalization,” Sessions said Sunday. “Today, on the Sunday shows, Gang of Eight members admitted that they abandoned this principle and that, in fact, legalization — or amnesty — would come first.”

The Senate approved a motion to proceed to the gun control bill by voice-vote Thursday evening.

The Senate can now officially start considering amendments to the bill, S. 649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act, which would expand background checks on gun purchases, crack down on straw purchasers of guns and beef up security in schools. The Senate is expected to work on the bill next week.

Republican senators decided to stop delaying the bill after earlier in the day the Senate cleared the first hurdle by approving cloture on the motion to proceed on a vote of 68-31. Sixteen Republicans supported moving forward with the bill.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that he would vote against a cloture motion to proceed to debate of the Senate gun control reform bill.

McConnell said that S. 649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act, disproportionately affects law-abiding gun owners.

“This bill is a clear overreach that will predominantly punish and harass our neighbors, friends, and family,” McConnell said just a few hours before the Senate will take a procedural vote to advance the bill.