CIR is at a critical juncture this week. If a bill is not introduced in the Senate this week, the likelihood of anything being passed this year drops to almost zero. While anything is possible, if we don't see legislation introduced before the end of the week, we can take it as granted that there will be no action this year.

The absence of legislation action on CIR by the Democrats is somewhat puzzling. In an off year election, the key to success is being able to mobilize one's base. CIR is an issue that is important to the Democrats' base. More significantly, failing to even attempt to pass it will demoralize their base.

By introducing the legislation in the Senate, they can make the Republicans walk the plank. That is, if the Republicans kill it, the Democrats can use that fact to mobilize their base and also convince Latino voters that they should never vote for Republicans.

If the Republicans do not block it, passage of CIR will anger the Republican base and produce less enthusiasm for Republican candidates in November. Also, it will mean that the bill would be viewed as bi-partisan, making it harder for Republicans to use the votes of Democrats in the House in favor of CIR against them.

For whatever reason, the Democrats have chosen not to push CIR so far this legislative session. If they do not get something on file quickly, they will run out of time to do anything more this year. The health care reform legislation has still to be considered in final form, and the administration wants to push through a climate change bill. More importantly, none of the budget bills have been considered yet. The federal government will run out of money September 30th unless budget bills, or at least continuing resolutions are passed. With the toxic atmosphere in the Senate, there is no guarantee that the Republicans will allow continuing budget resolutions to be passed, so the Democrats cannot take anything for granted and must leave ample time to deal with the budget.