WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) issued the following statement after Speaker John Boehner stated he will not allow any House immigration legislation to go to conference with the Senate's bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill.

"Speaker Boehner's comments are insulting to the majority of Americans who want to see comprehensive immigration reform. It has been over six months since Democrats and Republicans in the Senate joined forces, negotiated and passed an immigration bill that was approved by a supermajority. The House of Representatives has irresponsibly voted over 45 times to defund the Affordable Care Act, yet Speaker Boehner now claims there is no time for one single vote on common-sense immigration reform. This is the same kind of Republican obstructionism that led our government to shut down last month. Legislating requires cooperation and discussion.

"Refusing to even negotiate on this issue does not reflect the true intentions of the majority of the U.S. Congress or the American people. As Speaker Boehner plays politics, the whole nationcontinues to feel the economic and human impact of a broken immigration system. I call upon my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to stand up to this irresponsible and unacceptable strategy. The clock is ticking, but there is ample time to get this done. All we need is a vote. Every day that passes is another missed opportunity to do the right thing by passing commonsense comprehensive immigration reform."

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