Senate

The Senate voted 82-15 on Tuesday to end debate on a motion to proceed to a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) delivered a speech on the comprehensive immigration reform bill entirely in Spanish on the Senate floor Tuesday.

“We have had and will continue to have hours of debate on this issue. I think it is appropriate that I spend a few minutes explaining the bill in Spanish, a language that has been spoken in this country since Spanish missionaries founded St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565,” Kaine said. “Spanish is also spoken by almost 40 million Americans who have a lot at stake in the outcome of this debate.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Tuesday that he joined the Gang of Eight to reform the immigration system because the current system is “bad for America.”

“To the opponents of the legislation, I respect your opinion very much,” Rubio said on the Senate floor. "I’m not interested in being able to pass a bill as a talking point. … I’m personally interested in solving an issue for the American people. … The fact that we can’t enforce our immigration laws because the systems we have in place don’t work — that’s bad for America.

“The only way I know how to solve a problem is get involved.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said those opposing his amendment to the comprehensive immigration reform bill will have no one to blame but themselves if Congress fails to pass the bill.

“If in fact Congress fails to pass comprehensive immigration reform, the opponents of these sensible border security measures will have no one to blame but themselves,” Cornyn said Tuesday on the Senate floor. “That is the real poison pill, failing to solve the problem.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill needs “major changes.”

“The Gang of Eight has done its work, now it’s time for the Gang of 100 to do its work,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “This bill has serious flaws … [and] there will need to be major changes to this bill if it’s going to become law.”

The Senate starts at 10 a.m. and will hold at least one procedural vote on a bipartisan, yet controversial, immigration bill.

In the morning, the Senate will continue debating S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. After breaking for lunch, senators will hold the first procedural vote — on a motion to end debate on a motion to proceed to the bill.

More than 15 Republicans joined most Democrats in supporting the bill.

The newest member of the Senate, Jeff Chiesa (R-N.J.) was sworn in Monday afternoon.

Last Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) appointed state Attorney General Chiesa to fill deceased Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) seat until the upcoming October special election.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Monday that the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform bill would repeat the mistakes of the 1986 immigration reforms.

“I voted for it and I acknowledge that what we did in 1986, we got it wrong. We can’t afford to make the same mistakes,” Grassley said on the Senate floor Monday. “So don’t repeat 1986. See that the borders are absolutely secure — no excuses on that point, no exceptions on that point.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) criticized House Republicans for voting last week to resume the deportation of young immigrants in the country illegally known as Dreamers.

Reid said Monday on the Senate floor that House Republicans trying to appease the “Tea Party-driven right wing” sent a “chilling message” to Dreamers.