An exasperated Jeff Flake quipped that he would go on a hunger strike if the current Congress doesn’t pass immigration reform. Fellow Arizona senator and Gang of Eight member John McCain, who joined Flake at an immigration-reform forum yesterday, said that he remains “guardedly optimistic” that some bill will pass. Both explained that they were hopeful the House would put forth an bill that it is an improvement of the Senate bill.
“I think if the House does do something, it’ll be in spite of the Senate, not because of it,” said Flake, speaking from his twelve years of experience in the chamber before being elected to the Senate in 2012. “Neither Senator McCain nor myself believed that the House would simply take up the Senate version and debate it — we knew that they would go through their own process.”
The senators were also very candid about their concerns on the current Senate bill. For example, when asked if they were worried employers would opt to hire immigrants rather than American workers to avoid providing certain coverage required under Obamacare, McCain plainly said, “I think it’s a problem — I don’t know what else to say.” Flake agreed.
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