Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who has called on Senate Judiciary Committee chair Pat Leahy (R-VT) to slow down the immigration process, is complaining Leahy’s latest missive suggesting he’ll include at least one a hearing on upcoming legislation before moving on to the amendment process is insufficient.
“Chairman Leahy’s mention of the possibility of maybe holding a single hearing is not a pledge of openness, but a confirmation of our suspicions. A sound committee process will take months—not the two-week timeframe Chairman Leahy has outlined—and will require extensive hearings to understand every major component of reform,” Sessions said in a statement.
Leahy’s letter, which pledged “swift and thorough action” on immigration reform, was written in response to concerns by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) that an upcoming bipartisan bill might move too quickly and potentially bypass the usual amendment process. Rubio’s spokesman Alex Conant took a more generous view than Sessions, however, tweeting afterwards that the response from Leahy was a “good sign.”
