Senate votes on DREAM Act and DADT Repeal today

Preliminary votes today on the DREAM Act will probably fail but the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) is expected to pass. We'll see later today.

RESULTS:
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' PASSES - The final vote to end the Pentagon's 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" policy was 65-31, drawing support from eight Republicans. [Snip] The eight Republicans who joined Democrats in passing the repeal were: Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Kirk of Illinois, George Voinovich of Ohio, Richard Burr of North Carolina, John Ensign of Nevada and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine. [President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law next week.] Read more at Fox News...

DREAM Act FAILS - Democrats couldn't muster the 60 votes required to overcome a Republican filibuster on the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, which the House of Representatives passed earlier this month. ∴ The Senate's 55-41 vote broke mostly along party lines, though three Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Robert Bennett of Utah and Richard Lugar of Indiana — voted with the Democrats. ∴ Five Democratic senators — Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Jon Tester and Max Bacus of Montana — sided with Republicans. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced his opposition to the bill but missed the vote. Read more at the Idaho Statesman...