Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) claimed Thursday that he has enough support to file a discharge petition for H.Res. 774 that would force a series of votes in the House on several DACA amnesty proposals. A discharge petition requires support from at least 218 House Members, and Rep. Denham is counting on support from all Democrats to reach that number.
Last month, Rep. Denham introduced H.Res. 774, that, if passed, would require a series of four votes on DACA. The first would be on Rep. Bob Goodlatte's Securing America's Future Act, the second on Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard's (D-Calif.) Dream Act, the third on an amendment of House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) choosing, and the fourth on an amendment of Rep. Denham's choosing. The proposal that receives the most votes and exceeds 218 votes would be passed by the House.
Speaker Ryan said on Thursday that he is not in favor of Rep. Denham’s push for votes on DACA that would likely be vetoed by Pres. Trump.
"I don't want to spend our time bringing something through that I know is going to get vetoed," House Speaker Ryan said.
Despite Speaker Ryan’s opposition to the idea, Rep. Denham still believes that if he gets enough support from Democrats and at least 50 Republicans that House leadership will voluntarily bring the bills to the floor.
"I would hope that after we get to 218 that leadership will realize that a vote is imminent, and we bring it to the floor immediately," Denham said. "When you get to 218, it shows the will of Congress, and we expect to be well beyond that."
The Senate has already rejected legislation similar to the proposals that Denham is pushing for.
For more on this story, see the Los Angeles Times.
