Senate Democrats plan to filibuster legislation passed by the House on Thursday that seeks to pause the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
The bill has bipartisan support, with 47 Democratic members of the House having voted in favor of it. The latest Bloomberg Poll also shows that a majority of Americans, 53 percent, say that the U.S. should not continue the program to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees.
But, according to The Hill, Senate Democrats plan to focus the debate on the millions of people who come into the country on the visa waiver program.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared the House bill has no chance of reaching President Obama’s desk, confident he will be able to hold his ranks when the bill comes to the floor.“The problem is not with refugees,” Reid said. “I don’t think we’ll be dealing with it over here.”When asked about the prospect of Obama vetoing the legislation, Reid said, “Don’t worry, it won’t get passed. Next question?”
If Reid is correct and the bill goes nowhere, the next option for Republicans is to add a provision into the budget that prevents the resettlement of Syrian refugees. The budget was passed in October, but the money hasn’t been appropriated. Republicans may add it into the bill. The risk is if Democrats reject it, it may provoke a government shut down.
Congress has until December 11, 2015 to pass the spending bill.
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