House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Sunday that he believes immigration is a "serious problem" that needs to be dealt with, but he would not say which, if any, aspects of immigration reform he supports.
"It's not about me," he told Bob Schieffer on CBS' Face the Nation. "It's not about what I want. What I committed to when I became speaker was to a more open and fair process. And as difficult as this issue is, me taking a hard position for or against some of these issues will make it harder for us to get a bill."
Boehner said he would definitely not allow a vote on the immigration reform bill passed by the Senate, because it's too "massive" and not strong enough on border protection. He said the House would deal with immigration reform in "chunks" rather than a comprehensive bill. But he would not answer the question of whether he would allow a vote on a bill that that provides a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
"I'm not going to predict what's going to be on the floor and what isn't going to be on the floor. And that's what you're asking me to do. I can't do that," Boehner said. "And I don't want to do that. My job in this process is to facilitate a discussion and to facilitate a process, so the American people can see what we're doing and so the members understand that we're dealing with this in a deliberative way."
He added, "If I come out and say, 'I'm for this and I'm for that,' all I'm doing is making my job harder."
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