MSNBC "Daily Rundown" - Transcript - Immigration Reform

Interview

CHRIS CILLIZZA, MSNBC: Joining me now, Maryland Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

Well, Congressman Van Hollen, you heard Speaker Boehner. Is that possible, given what you know of what we've seen on the farm bill and other things with the House majority. Is it possible an immigration bill comes to the floor that has the majority of the majority support in the Republican conference?

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Chris, I'm not sure it is.

Look, the really good news yesterday was that a big bipartisan bill came out of the United States Senate, 68 votes for comprehensive immigration reform.

The bad news in the Speaker's comments is really in two places. One, he's not going to take up the bipartisan Senate bill. If he did, we could pass it today. I think we've got at least 200 Democratic votes in the House. I think we'd get at least 18 Republican votes in the House. We could get this important legislation done today.

He said he won't do that.

But what's worse is he said that anything that came out of a conference committee down the road would only be brought up for a vote in the House if a majority of the Republicans supported it. And right now I don't see how that configuration passes, because a majority of the Republicans in the House are against any sort path towards legalization and eventual citizenship.

CILLIZZA: Congressman, the critique I've heard of President Obama and Senate Democrats' approach broadly on this is that there is a concern among House Republicans that by circumventing what they call normal order, a bill in the House going through committee, then being voted on the House floor, then going to conference committee, that the President is more interested in, sort of, scoring political points on immigration than actually getting a bill.

Why not let it, sort of, wind its way through the normal legislative process on the House side.

VAN HOLLEN: Well, two things, Chris. I mean, the President has actually been very careful not to get involved in the Congressional politics on this issue -- to make sure he doesn't do or say anything that might disrupt the process. Now it's really important that the House do its work. If the House is not going to take up the Senate bill, it should move very quickly to pass its own legislation and get to conference.

So what was most disturbing about the Speaker's comments was that out of the conference committee, very specifically, he said he would not allow the people's House to work its will. That he would only allow something to come out of conference committee if it had the support of a majority of Republicans.

That's anti-Democratic, and I'm afraid that could doom the prospects of immigration reform. No one's giving up yet. I still think there's great hope. But that was not a promising statement.

CILLIZZA: Congressman Van Hollen, you know politics and policy, and the confluence of those two, as well as anyone in that chamber. In your expert opinion, do we or do we not get an immigration reform bill through the House?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, you mean a comprehensive immigration reform that looks something like the Senate?

CILLIZZA: Yes, sir.

VAN HOLLEN: That was put in some jeopardy by the Speaker yesterday. I still think it's 50-50. I'm not trying to duck the question, Chris. I think it's 50-50. That's the good news.

The bad news is, a couple months ago, I thought the momentum was clearly in favor of it, I would have said 65 percent, 70 percent chance of getting it done. So I still think we're at 50-50. But, unfortunately, the Speaker's comments and the House Republicans' statements, you know, are taking us in the wrong direction.

This is going to require the country to respond. People throughout the country are going to have to say, now is the time to address this broken immigration system and let's get moving.

CILLIZZA: Maryland's Chris Van Hollen, thank you.

VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.

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