The U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.
Sen. Jeff Flake and other members of a bipartisan working group spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday night calling for a vote on their proposal to save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
"Put this on the floor, let's see where the votes are," said Flake. "We have a short period of time, we don't have much runway. The last thing we want to do is come right up against the deadline."
Some in the Republican Party say there can be no vote until the White House indicates whether or not it approves of the bipartisan proposal.
Sen. Flake said that is a bad strategy. Instead he said Congress should vote and force President Donald Trump to act.
"Then the White House will come and say 'yes I can support that or we can support that with this change or that.' But if we are waiting for the White House to come to us with a proposal they can support, we will be likely waiting a long time," said Flake.
The bipartisan group of Senators said they believe they can get the 60 votes needed to pass the proposal in the Senate.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.