Tell Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to demand a vote

Dear MoveOn member,

We are just 18 votes away from being able to pass comprehensive immigration reform in the House. 

It's true: Despite Speaker John Boehner's refusal to compromise, there is still one clear way to pass comprehensive immigration reform in January—with a discharge petition.¹

There are currently 200 representatives who've signed on as co-sponsors of H.R. 15, the House immigration bill. All we need is one Democrat gutsy enough to lead and 217 representatives to vote for a discharge petition—that's 18 more members than are already co-sponsoring the bill. It's a simple process that would bypass Speaker Boehner and trigger an up-or-down vote.²

However, it seems that the House and President Obama have made up their minds that the only way to pass any kind of immigration reform is a piecemeal deal.³

This is a bitterly disappointing concession from President Obama. A piecemeal approach is far from perfect, since it could mean delays in getting the bills passed as well as hacking away at the strengths of the current bill.

Given the power that Democrats showed during the shutdown, it's hard to believe that they won't do more to make sure that comprehensive immigration reform passes in the House. 

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who initially sponsored H.R. 15 back in October, should do everything in her power to avoid a piecemeal approach and ensure that comprehensive immigration reform passes.

Will you join MoveOn member Amos Lim and share this image on Facebook, calling on Nancy Pelosi to start a discharge petition to pass comprehensive immigration reform? 

Thanks for all you do. 

–Mariana, Stephen, Alejandro, Stefanie, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Boehner: Immigration reform 'absolutely not' dead in House," The Washington Post, November 21, 2013

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=295188&id=79181-10220574-b%3DPSpdx&t=2

2. "And then there were two," MSNBC, October 29, 2013

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=294722&id=79181-10220574-b%3DPSpdx&t=4

3. "Obama Backs Piecemeal Immigration Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2013

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=295181&id=79181-10220574-b%3DPSpdx&t=5

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

---

This email was sent to eddie alfaro on November 24, 2013. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.