The bill was sponsored by Senator Robert F. Wagner (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Edith Rogers (R-Mass.)
[1] The bill had widespread support among religious and labor groups, but was opposed by nationalist organizations and Democrat Senator Robert Rice Reynolds threatened to filibuster against it.
[2][3] President Franklin D. Roosevelt supported the bill, but thought he lacked the wherewithal to overcome congressional resistance.
[2] Nevertheless, the House Immigration Committee never reported the bill out; eleven members were said to be opposed and eight in favor.
[2] Historian Richard Breitman argues that, in addition to general anti-immigration sentiment, anti-semitism also played a substantial role in the bill's defeat.