by Sarah Audelo, Senior Manager, Domestic Policy

This weekend the Senate voted on two pieces of legislation that we had mobilized our activists around: the DREAM Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. 

The good news is that in a decisive 63-33 vote, the Senate decided to end debate on the issue of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal (60 votes were needed), which lead to a 65-31 vote (51 were needed) that ultimately will repeal the measure. There is a 60 day window for the President and Joint Chiefs to move forward on “officially” repealing the measure (create a process, etc.), but overall this is great news to celebrate! 

On a sadder note, the Senate voted 55-41 to end debate on the DREAM Act.

Sixty votes were needed to invoke cloture (end debate) and because of these Senate rules, while still a majority, they were unable to move forward to actually voting on the bill.  Activists, including many of our own, have been working incredibly hard on this piece of legislation and I think it would be fair to say that “heartbreak” was and continues to be the emotion felt by many at this time. The DREAM Act was five votes shy of passing, and it is important to note that five Democrats voted “no” on DREAM (Baucus-MT, Tester-MT, Pryor-AR, Nelson-NE, Hagan-NC) while one did not vote because he was at a holiday party with his family (Manchin from WV). There were three Republicans who voted for DREAM that should be thanked including Lugar (IN), Murkowski (AK), and Bennett (UT). 

Moving forward, it is important to know that DREAMers and their allies have already begun organizing for the 112^th Congress (beginning in January) and the 2012 election.  There have also been calls to the Obama administration to end the deportation of young people who would qualify under the DREAM Act. Unfortunately, immigration is an issue that divides the “progressive” community, and much work is needed to build broader support even on issues as middle ground as DREAM. It’s also important to note the climate change in Washington as Republican Senators previously supportive of a much more expansive DREAM Act ultimately voted “no” on the legislation.   

As the year winds down, we should celebrate the DADT repeal, but remember the many lessons that the DREAM Act struggle has provided. The next Congress is going to be ugly. Hopefully the progressive community will take that as an opportunity to unite.

If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to shoot me an email at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .