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Why the DREAM Act Vote Was Delayed, and Where We Stand Now

Posted December 3, 2010 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Federal Immigration Policy

Yesterday afternoon, I reported that a House vote on the DREAM Act was likely today. Last night I got word that the vote has been postponed. Lobbyists in Washington are saying that the vote will probably take place next Wednesday or Thursday.

The vote was delayed due to two major factors. The first is that the censure of Charlie Rangel chewed up more time than anticipated yesterday. The second is that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring of the DREAM Act, which was expected early yesterday, did not come in until the late afternoon.

Regular readers know that the DREAM Act was amended this week, which meant that prior to a vote the legislation had to go to the Congressional Budget Office for what is called a “CBO Score”. The CBO Score is an assessment by the non-partisan office on the impact of the bill on the budget deficit. The original version of the bill was expected to result in a slight increase in the deficit. The new version will reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion over the next 10 years.

This lays to rest one of the arguments against the DREAM Act trotted out this week that it is a budget wrecker. In fact, in the short term, the DREAM Act is an economic winner. In the long run, as the students helped by it move into the prime years of their work lives, the DREAM Act looks like a home run.

Image courtesy of Kyle Rush via Flickr.