GOP Senator: Healthcare Bill May Cost Immigration Overhaul

The Los Angeles Times reported: The lone Republican senator inclined to support the Obama administration’s bid to pass a major immigration overhaul said Friday that if a healthcare bill passes this weekend, the immigration effort is dead for the year. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is considered a crucial player in the immigration debate – a Republican prepared to cross party lines and vote for a bill that would provide a path to legal status for the 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. But Graham’s support has never been a sure thing. In recent days, he had made it clear that he was unhappy about the procedures Democrats are using to push the healthcare bill to a vote. "If the healthcare bill goes through this weekend, that will, in my view, pretty much kill any chance of immigration reform passing the Senate this year," Graham said Friday, two days before thousands are expected to march in Washington in support of an immigration overhaul. Neither Schumer nor the White House would comment on Graham’s statement.