A group of Illinois Democrats, led by Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11), wrote the members commending them for their leadership and urging them to follow through on their statements of support by cosponsoring H.R. 15, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.
The letter was signed by Representatives Tammy Duckworth (IL-8), Bill Foster (IL-11), Robin Kelly (IL-2), Bobby Rush (IL-1), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9) and Brad Schneider (IL-10).
A copy of the letter can be found here.
“We are encouraged that Representatives Kinzinger, Shimkus and Schock were willing to speak out in support of immigration reform and a path to citizenship,” said Foster. “But now it’s time to follow those words with action and support H.R. 15, a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would secure our borders, provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the country, and create a more secure and efficient system for legal immigration.”
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 15 would reduce the deficit by $900 billion over twenty years, and increase the GDP by 5.4 percent over the same time period, an increase of $1.4 trillion in today’s dollars.
H.R. 15 has 200 sponsors, including three Republicans. Additionally, 191 Members of Congress have signed a discharge petition to force a vote on H.R. 15. A discharge petition is a mechanism to avoid leadership gridlock in Congress by requiring the House to consider the legislation once a majority of Members of Congress (218) have signed it.
