After President Trump’s decision to terminate the DACA program– that protects from deportation 800,000 people brought to the US as children by undocumented immigrants– Congressman Goodlatte proclaimed:

I stand ready to work with the Trump Administration and my colleagues in Congress to address this problem the right way: through reasonable legislation passed by Congress, rather than by executive fiat.”

So it was good to be reminded that precisely such reasonable legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives back on January 12, 2017, and referred to the Goodlatte-chaired Judiciary Committee– where it still awaits action.

The BRIDGE Act (HR 496)– introduced by Republican Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado– would extend DACA for three years pending a permanent solution.

As chair of the Judiciary Committee, Goodlatte had the power at any time between January 12 and now to bring up the BRIDGE Act for a vote in committee and send it to the full House for consideration.

He didn’t. And so Coffman has filed a discharge petition, requiring the signatures of a majority in the House, to force the bill onto the House floor for a vote.

Of course Goodlatte could make this effort moot by simply bringing the BRIDGE Act up for debate and vote in the Judiciary Committee.

Will he? He should be asked.