Sen. Durbin: Immigration Bill Doesn’t Need 70 Votes

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Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Monday that the so-called Gang of Eight immigration reform bill has already been so weakened by concessions on border security that it would be a “big mistake” to push for 70 votes, according to The Hill.

Durbin responded with a firm “no” when asked on CBS News whether the bill needed more than 70 votes.

“We need 60 votes by the Senate standards,” he told CBS, as quoted by The Hill. “The more the better though. I just don’t want to compromise the values in this bill.”

“We worked for four months, had 30 minutes, [Sens.] John McCain [R-AZ], Chuck Schumer [D-NY], Lindsey Graham [R-SC], Marco Rubio [R-FL], myself, Bob Menendez [D-NJ], we worked all this time to come up with a basic framework, and if we’re going to abandon this now to pick up 2, 3, 4 or 5 votes, that’s a big mistake,” Durbin added.

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