Representative Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.), the chairman of the judiciary committee, tells National Journal that he’s going to start considering “single issue” immigration bills, and he’s not waiting for the House’s bipartisan working group to finalize its legislation. This news could disrupt the increasingly fragile negotiations between House Republicans and House Democrats, especially as the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” prepares to unveil its bill on Tuesday.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., isn’t interested in waiting on immigration.
While a bipartisan group of House members works behind closed doors toward a comprehensive reform package, Goodlatte is going to start considering single-issue immigration bills in his committee.
In the coming days, several single-issue immigration bills will be introduced in House Judiciary to address parts of the system that the chairman thinks need reform, according to a committee aide. The purpose of the move, Goodlatte told National Journal, is “to move the process forward, to get good discussion, [and] good debate on a lot of the different issues.”
Unlike Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, who expressed his frustration at the delay in getting legislation from either the upper chamber’s Gang of Eight or the president last month, Goodlatte insists he is not trying to preempt the work of the bipartisan House group.
More here.