Bernie Sanders Supports Overruling Parliamentarian to Pass Immigration Reform

 Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders (D-VT) says that, if necessary, he supports overruling the Senate parliamentarian to include immigration reform in Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget agreement.

"The time is very long overdue for us to have comprehensive reform and why many people say it will be in there," Senator Sanders told LPO on Tuesday afternoon, "but this is something that will need to go through the parliamentarian."

Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is responsible for interpreting the rules and parliamentary procedures of the upper chamber of Congress. When asked by LPO if he supports overruling MacDonough if she advises against including immigration reform in Senate Democrats' budget reconciliation package, Senate Sanders did not waffle: "The answer is yes."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Senator Dick Durban (D-IL) told reporters on Monday when asked if he supports overruling MacDonough if her interpretation of Senate rules and procedures scuttles immigration reform through budget reconciliation.

In practice, budget reconciliation allows Senate Democrats to pass budget legislation by a simple majority, thus avoiding the inevitable Republican filibuster.

Durban was also asked by reporters if budget reconciliation would include a potential path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would include all undocumented immigrants, or just immigrant youth protected by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). "I hope it goes bigger," Durban said.

According to the Congressional Research Service , budget reconciliation is a complicated procedure allowed under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 through which Congress can pass a budget "affecting mainly permanent spending and revenue programs" with the main focus of deficit reduction. Budget reconciliation "prohibits inclusion in reconciliation of matter [sic] unrelated to the deficit reduction goals of the reconciliation process."

In practice, budget reconciliation allows Senate Democrats to pass budget legislation by a simple majority, thus avoiding the inevitable Republican filibuster.

By including immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship in the $ 3.5 trillion budget agreement reached last week by Senate Democrats, the majority party can, in theory, pass changes to federal immigration laws that have been losought by a generation of progressives and moderates in both chambers of Congress. The last major reform to US immigration law was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1985.

Senators Casey and Cardin indicated to LPO last week that there was funding for immigration reform in Senate Democrats' budget proposal. "Right now the plan is a topline dollar number," Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told LPO last Thursday. "Then the [Senate] judiciary committee will take jurisdiction and work through the details and make a recommendation to the rest of the [Democratic] caucus."

Whatever vehicles we can find to do immigration reform are good ones.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) cautioned that there are limits to what can be passed through budget reconciliation, the legislative maneuver that the Democratic majorities in Congress are expected to use to pass the sweeping budget proposal, adding: "Whatever vehicles we can find to do immigration reform are good ones. "

"My hope is that our bipartisan efforts will yield results but if not, then yes I would," said Senator Bob Menendez when asked by LPO if he supported including immigration reform in the budget legislation.

"I don't think it's unreasonable," said Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) when asked the same. "It just depends on what it looks like."

Democratic Senators Booker (NJ), Schatz (HA), Murphy (CT), and Lujan (NM) also said they support including immigration reform in the budget deal.