Politico
Chuck Schumer struggles to find co-sponsor
By MEREDITH SHINER | 3/10/10 5:02 PM EST

Heading into Thursday’s meeting at the White House on immigration, Sen. Chuck Schumer — the Democrats' point man on the issue — says he's "optimistic" about producing legislation this year on the hot-button issue.

But the reality of the Senate's schedule — as well as finding another Republican co-sponsor to join forces with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the GOP's champion on the issue — could prove daunting as the Senate attempts to push forward.

"Lindsey Graham and I are working. We only have a couple of more things to get done — and they're hard. One of them is to get another Republican on the bill. One is to finally deal with the issue of getting business and labor on the same side on low-wage workers," Schumer said Wednesday, before proclaiming that he and Graham were "real close" to a deal.

Graham has called for a higher level of engagement from the White House, telling POLITICO on Tuesday that on immigration, “at the end of the day, the president needs to step it up a little bit. One line in the State of the Union is not going to do it.â€