Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wants to pass both immigration and energy reform this year.
"Immigration and energy reform are equally vital to our economic and national security and have been ignored for far too long," Reid said in a statement released Monday.
"As I have said, I am committed to trying to enact comprehensive clean energy legislation this session of Congress. Doing so will require strong bipartisan support and energy could be next if it's ready. I have also said we will try to pass comprehensive immigration reform. This too will require bipartisan support and significant committee work that has not yet begun."
Some Republicans have been critical of Democrats for even considering immigration reform in the current economic climate. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has been particularly critical.
"I am surprised by reports that the Democratic leadership plans to plow ahead with a comprehensive immigration overhaul this year," Sessions said.
"In the wake of unprecedented borrowing and spending, a bitterly partisan push to overhaul the nation's health care system, and the House's passage of an unpopular climate change bill, the American people are dubious about any talk of ramming through comprehensive reform."
He added that passing such a bill would "further divide the country and continue to distract the Congress from the issue of greatest concern to Americans: the economy."
"One in ten Americans are unemployed," Sessions continued. "Wages are stagnant. The pace of job creation is too slow. In this context, there is little enthusiasm in Congress to pass legislation that would legalize millions of unlawful residents to compete with out-of-work Americans for needed jobs, further driving down pay and draining government resources."
Sessions offered suggestions on how he thinks Congress should handle immigration, including taking "targeted steps to deal with the crisis at the border, increase the usage of the E-Verify program, and enhance prosecutions of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers."
According to Sessions, these policies would "restore lawfulness to our system and facilitate economic recovery."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.