Free Republic

WASHINGTON – The price tag for comprehensive immigration reform was not a key issue when the Senate passed its bill last May. But it is now. One reason: It took the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) - the gold standard for determining what a bill will cost - until last week to estimate that federal spending for this vast and complex bill would hit $127 billion over the next 10 years. At the same time, federal revenues would drop by about $79 billion, according to the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation. If lawmakers fix a tax glitch, that loss...

UPDATE: 216-214. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) proved to be the decisive 215th vote. At that moment, according to the Hotline's Jonathan Martin, Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt pantomimed a throat slash to the presiding officer, Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL). Upon receipt of that sign, Foley quickly gaveled the voting period to a close. The flips: Jim Gerlach, Rob Simmons, John Sweeney, to start with.