The Senate is slated to vote on the DREAM Act tomorrow. Senate majority leader Harry Reid has filed cloture on the version of DREAM that passed the House earlier this month.
“We still are counting 42 no votes,” says Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations at NumbersUSA, adding that four Democrats — Sens. Mark Pryor (Arkansas), Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Jon Tester (Montana), and Kay Hagan (North Carolina) — have announced they will vote against the DREAM Act.
Republican senators Bob Bennett of Utah and Richard Lugar of Indiana have announced that they will vote for the bill.
“The outlook remains dim for Democrat leaders [to pass DREAM], especially if the American people make their voices heard over the next 24 hours,” says a GOP Senate aide.
In a conference call with reporters this morning, Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, said that the White House was hopeful senators on the fence about DREAM “will get to yes tomorrow.”
“He [President Obama] is very deeply engaged [on passing DREAM],” Munoz added. “There’s a whole lot of effort being made across the administration on this issue.”
Education secretary Arne Duncan said that he had been making calls in favor of DREAM. “I will continue to make whatever calls I need to make today,” Duncan said, “This thing has been going the right way, and that ‘s very encouraging. But obviously tomorrow is the big hurdle.”