Becerra said that both GOP leaders and the Republican negotiators working to iron out a comprehensive bipartisan reform deal this month are pressuring conservative lawmakers to get on board. He suggested Boehner and other leaders want to pass something this year – even without the help of their most right-leaning members – to prevent a repeat of last November’s elections, when Latino voters came out in overwhelming support of President Obama and the Democrats.

“I believe Speaker Boehner wants to have a vote, a debated vote, on the floor of the House,” Becerra said. “I’m less confident that all the elements of his caucus, the House Republican conference, are quite there, but I think he’s working very hard to provide the information and educate the members of the House Republican conference so they can be there.

“We’re seeing a new day in Washington, DC, thanks to the election of November 2012,” Becerra added. “And sometimes it takes an election to wake people up.”