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The House of Representatives on Wednesday evening narrowly passed the DREAM Act with just an 18 vote margin. Its passage through the House is historic, but the DREAM Act was tabled in the Senate on Thursday for lack of the necessary 60 votes of support. Senate Democrats have a few days before the end of the lame duck session to round-up the handful of votes needed to ensure passage. In voicing his opposition to the legislation, Republican Senator David Vitter called it a “major amnesty provision”, saying that would create competition for jobs and increase demand for welfare programs. However a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office found that the DREAM act would generate $2.3 billion in tax revenues over 10 years. If the Act dies in the Senate it will be a major set-back, but supporters have won a battle for the hearts and minds of many. This year DREAM Activists have been tirelessly advocating for their cause. In the few weeks preceding the House vote their efforts were rewarded with a nation-wide media and organizing campaign backed by Democratic heavy weights, labor unions, and community groups. DREAM Activists, the majority of whom are young students, have been lauded by older activists for launching and sustaining a very successful grassroots campaign. In addition to lobbying members of Congress and gaining support from unions and other groups, they have put their bodies on-the-line by participating in acts of civil disobedience, including hunger strikes. Some have gone 30 days without eating.

GUEST: Jennifer Angarita, Public Affairs Department at the AFL-CIO in Washington DC, Carlos Amador, student activist working on the DREAM Act

Find out more at www.dreamactivist.org.

Targets for Senate support: Kay Hutchinson, R-Texas, Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine); Senator Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah); Sentor Susan Collins (R-Maine); Senator George LeMeiux (R-Florida); Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio)

SECONDARY SENATE TARGETS:
Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota), Senator Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia), Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas)