President Obama should get personally involved in the high stakes battle to enact immigration reform in the United States, according to the head of the Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue. Donohue says that he is seriously concerned that leadership is crucial at the moment in Washington.
“We need leadership in the business community, we need leadership in the House, we need leadership in the Senate, and we need leadership in the White House,” Donohue informed reporters at a breakfast meeting yesterday that was hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. He did, however, indirectly acknowledge the fact that it was going to be difficult to get the bill through Congress in 2013 given its unpopular nature and the bitter bipartisan battles that have erupted over budget bills, and highlighted the fact that there was still another full year “of this Congress” left to go.
Donohue’s plea for Obama to become more involved in the immigration saga follows an increasing number of Republican legislators calling for the sidelining of the bill altogether due to their lack of trust in the President, believing that he will not negotiate in good faith or allow the implementation of provisions that he does not personally approve of.
Although the immigration bill is being backed by the business community, many portions are not so popular with votes (particularly those in the Republican Party base), and the pushing of such a bill through Congress risks them losing control of the House if that base does not turn out for them next year.