Thread: U.S. Senate blocks DREAM ACT AMNESTY for illegal aliens

Sep. 21, 2010 3:02 PM ET

Republicans block bill to lift military gay ban

ANNE FLAHERTYANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have blocked an effort to repeal the law banning gays from serving openly in the military.

The partisan vote was a defeat for gay rights groups who saw the provision in a defense authorization bill as their last chance any time soon to overturn the law known as "don't ask, don't tell."

Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation, which authorized $726 billion in defense spending including a pay raise for troops.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins had been seen as the crucial 60th vote because she supports overturning the military ban. But Collins sided with her GOP colleagues in arguing that Republicans weren't given sufficient leeway to offer amendments to the wide-ranging policy bill.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate bill to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy appeared headed for defeat Tuesday, a major setback for gay groups that saw the vote as their last chance this year to overturn the 17-year-old ban.

Advocates had been optimistic that the Democratic-controlled White House and Congress could overcome objections to repeal of the law barring gays from serving openly in the military. The move is unpopular among Republicans, military officers and social conservatives.

But in the end, Senate Democrats were expected to fall at least one vote short of the 60 needed to limit debate and advance the legislation .

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the only Republican to support repealing the law and widely seen as the crucial 60th vote, announced Tuesday that she would not support advancing the bill because Democrats wouldn't allow the Republicans sufficient leeway to offer amendments.

Now, gay rights advocates say they worry they have lost a crucial opportunity to change the law. If Democrats lose seats in the upcoming elections this fall, repealing the law will prove even more difficult — if not impossible — next year.

"The whole thing is a political train wreck," said Richard Socarides, a former White House adviser on gay rights during the Clinton administration.

Socarides said President Barack Obama "badly miscalculated" the Pentagon's support for repeal, while Democrats made only a "token effort" to advance the bill.

"If it was a priority for the Democratic leadership, they would get a clean vote on this," he said.

Senate Democrats attached the repeal provision to a bill authorizing $726 billion in military spending next year. With little time left for debate before this fall's congressional elections, the bill received little attention until gay rights groups backed by pop star Lady Gaga began an aggressive push to turn it into an election issue.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., gave Republicans the chance to offer only one amendment to address GOP objections on the military's policy on gays.

Collins said she planned to vote against advancing the bill unless Democrats agree to extend debate so that her colleagues could weigh in on other issues.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, said the senator would be willing to allow more debate on the bill after the November elections.

But "today's vote isn't about arcane Senate procedures," Manley said. "It's about a GOP's pattern of obstructing debate on policies important to the American people."

An estimated 13,000 people have been discharged under the law since its inception in 1993. Although most dismissals have resulted from gay service members outing themselves, gay rights' groups say it has been used by vindictive co-workers to drum out troops who never made their sexuality an issue.

Top defense officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, have said they support a repeal but want to move slowly to ensure changes won't hurt morale.

Gates has asked Congress not to act until the military finishes a study, due Dec. 1, on how to lift the ban without causing problems. He also has said he could live with the proposed legislation because it would postpone implementation until 60 days after the Pentagon completes its review and the president certifies that repeal won't hurt morale, recruiting or retention.

In another blow to the bill, Obama's pick to lead the Marine Corps told a Senate panel on Tuesday that he worried that changing the policy would serve as a "distraction" to Marines fighting in Afghanistan.

"My primary concern with proposed repeal is the potential disruption to cohesion that may be caused by significant change during a period of extended combat operations," Gen. James Amos said in a written statement provided to the panel for his confirmation hearing.

During one exchange with Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Amos said he would implement any changes in the law on gay service made by Congress. He said the Marine Corps would rely on discipline and leadership to ensure order, but that he didn't envision a gag order on troops who disagreed with revoking the ban.

Some Republicans have suggested they fear troops who openly oppose gay service would be punished for speaking out.

"I don't see this as a racist issue," Amos said. "I see this as an anxious issue ... because we don't have the answers yet

http://hosted2.ap.org/NMSAN/90cd12eb1d2 ... 12cdaca027

None of comments are being made concerning - DADT - they are ALL about the Dream Act.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

None of comments are being made concerning - DADT - they are ALL about the Dream Act.

This part was their true intention all along

it was all about amnesty

56-43 this means that THREE DEMS voted not also

Sep 21, 2010

Senate blocks repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'

03:13 PM

Senate Republicans have blocked a military spending bill that would have ended the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays from serving openly.

The vote was 56-43, with 60 votes needed to break the filibuster and advance the legislation, which calls for spending $726 billion on the Pentagon.

Arkansas Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor joined Republicans to block the bill. In a prodedural move to allow another vote on the bill, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada also voted no.
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http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... ont-tell/1

Sep 21, 2010

Measure allowing gays in the military stopped short in the Senate

01:41 PM

By Pat Wellenbach, APDespite the best efforts of pop icon Lady Gaga, gay rights advocates fell four votes short this afternoon in a Senate vote that could have set the stage for repeal of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.

Put in place by former president Bill Clinton 17 years ago, the policy allows gays and lesbians to serve only as long as they keep their sexual preferences secret. The Senate this afternoon blocked an effort to begin debate on a Defense Department budget bill -- largely because it included a provision that would open the door for repealing the policy -- allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

The House has already approved repeal of don't ask, don't tell.

Backers of the Senate repeal needed 60 votes to move ahead, but lost some of the moderate Republicans they were counting on. The vote on taking up the measure was 56 in favor, 43 against. All Republicans voted to block the measure.

Arkansas Democrats Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln crossed party lines to oppose the bill. So did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but that was for procedural reasons: Senate rules require the Nevada Democrat to have voted on the winning side in order to call the measure back up for reconsideration.

Lady Gaga's Monday appearance at a rally in Maine was meant to pressure that state's two GOP senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to allow debate to proceed. It didn't work.

This morning, Collins announced her support for Senate Republican leaders' efforts to block debate -- even though she wants to repeal don't ask, don't tell.

Noting that 13,000 troops have been dismissed because of their sexual orientation since 1993, Collins said: "We should be expressing our gratitude to those individuals, not trying to exclude them from serving."

For now, however, she said she'd stick with her party leadership. Other GOP moderates who are following suit: Snowe, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and George Voinovich of Ohio.

Republicans said they wanted to block what they described as an election-eve political stunt designed to rev up key Democratic constituencies. In addition to the don't ask, don't tell proviso, the defense bill also includes a controversial amendment that would allow children brought to this country illegally by their parents to qualify for citizenship.

"A transparent attempt to show their special interest groups that they haven't forgotten about them ahead of the election," is how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., described the Democrats' move.

The defense bill does not mandate repeal of don't ask, don't tell, but authorizes repeal if the Pentagon determines that doing so will not damage military morale or discipline.

The Pentagon is surveying its 400,000 uniformed members of the military for their views on changing the policy, but Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a Navy veteran and Obama's 2008 presidential rival, is convinced the deck has been stacked in favor of doing away with don't ask, don't tell.

As currently written, the measure leaves the decision on repealing the policy to the president, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- "all of whom have said 'repeal,'" noted McCain. He accused Obama of engaging in "a cynical act for political reasons as the election nears."

The celebrity input didn't have much effect on senators' votes.

"I think I have a better understanding of the difficulties of this matter than Lady Gaga has," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told reporters. "Whether Lady Gaga likes it or not is not of concern to me," added Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., "she's not in the military."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... military/1

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ALIPAC Congratulates Americans for Defeating Dream Amnesty

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1118197.html#1118197

Published: Sept. 21, 2010
Updated: 1:22 p.m.

Student immigration bill dies in U.S. Senate

BY CINDY CARCAMO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

CLICK HERE for more immigration-related news.

CLICK HERE to see what local lawmakers think of the DREAM Act.
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An act that would have given U.S. residency to certain students and military hopefuls who are in the country illegally died today in the Senate.
Senators voted 56 to 43 for the bill, falling short of the 60 votes needed to bring it to the floor.

The vote comes after activists ratcheted up their lobbying Monday, generating thousands of calls and faxes to members of Congress in a last-minute push for the DREAM Act.

Democratic Senate leaders had wanted the DREAM Act – Development, Relief and Education for Minor Aliens – to be included as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. The act would give students and military hopefuls who are in the country illegally a pathway to U.S. citizenship.

Locally, the measure has been met with fervor among the anti-illegal immigration contingency that is calling on its members to step up efforts, and threaten Senators with ouster if they vote for the act.

Barbara Coe of Huntington Beach-based California Coalition for Immigration Reform – an anti-illegal immigration organization – sent members urgent e-mails listing the names and numbers of Senators.

The push to build support for the act has also gained unprecedented steam nationally and locally in recent months. Members of the Orange County Dream Team have placed calls to decision makers and posted updates on their Face Book page, urging friends to take action. Nationally, supporters have held vigils and even spread out on a Florida beach to spell out the word "DREAM."

President Barack Obama has vowed to support the Act since his time in the Senate.

"Now, the Senate is going to have a chance to do the right thing over the next few weeks when Senator Reid brings the DREAM Act to the floor," Obama said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus gala on Wednesday, according to news reports. "Keep in mind, in the past, this was a bill that was supported by a majority of Democrats and Republicans. There's no reason why it shouldn't receive that same kind of bipartisan support today."

The proposed federal legislation -- introduced by Senators Richard Durbin of Illinois and Richard Lugar of Indiana and Reps. Howard Berman of California and Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida -- has been around since 2000 but has faced opposition and defeat in the past.

The bill would allow students who are in the country illegally and who have finished at least two years of college or military service to apply for legal status. The bill would also allow those students to apply for legal permanent resident status, protect them from deportation and make them eligible for student loans and federal work study programs.
Students would need to have lived here at least five years and have arrived before they were 16.

Supporters of the bill say it would give students a chance to give back to America by allowing them to use their ability and education to become productive members of society.

Critics say it would take already-scarce higher educational resources away from American students and give it to those who are in the country illegally.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/act-2673 ... -bill.html

DREAM Act dies with rejection of defense bill

Posted: 2:00 PM
By: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The chance for hundreds of thousands of young people to remain in the U.S. legally evaporated when Republicans blocked a defense bill in the Senate.

Democrats failed to get a single Republican to vote with them so they would have the 60 votes needed to move forward on the defense bill and attach the DREAM Act to it as an amendment. The vote Tuesday was 56-43.

The DREAM Act allows young people to become legal U.S. residents after two spending years in college or the military.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/ ... fense-bill

September 21st, 2010, 3:41pm

U.S. Senate Blocks DREAM Act, DADT Repeal

Republicans and two Democrat in the U.S. Senate blocked a defense reauthorization package from moving forward for debate. The legislation included provisions repealing the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and implementing the DREAM Act. From a press release issued by Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights:

We condemn obstructionists in both parties for blocking the passage of a critical bill that would have allowed thousands of undocumented youth to legalize their status, provide money for our troops and would have repealed the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in our armed forces. The Republican leadership made a clear statement that no immigration related amendments could be added to this bill prior to the vote. This shows that the Republican Party continues to be the party of NO solutions. Their obstructionism shows that they are willing to play politics with the lives of undocumented youth and risk a stronger future of our military to gain cheap political points.

The DREAM Act would provide thousands of undocumented young people who were brought to the US as children, many of whom remember no other home, with an opportunity to earn legal status. They must have lived in the US for at least five years, must have good moral character, must have graduated from high school or obtained a GED, and must attend college or serve in the military for two years.

Sources Fox

http://progressillinois.com/news/conten ... -us-senate