Reid embraces House version of DREAM Act
By Erin Kelly, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday postponed until next week a vote on the DREAM Act, which would allow young immigrants brought to this country illegally as children to earn legal status if they attend college or serve in the U.S. military.
The Senate had been scheduled to vote on its version of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act on Thursday morning. But U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced that he wanted to scrap the Senate version in favor of a different version passed Wednesday night by the U.S. House.
Wednesday’s vote was the first time the House has approved the DREAM Act in the 10 years since the legislation was first introduced in early 2001.
Now, if Reid manages to wrangle enough votes for the bill, it can go straight to Democratic President Barack Obama for his signature instead of having to go back to the House.
Reid won a 59-40 vote Thursday to table the Senate version of the bill.