Nonetheless, Lofgren intends to continue pushing , the Immigration Driving Entrepreneurship in America Act of 2011 or the IDEA Act (HR 2161), which would make green cards available to students who earn advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at research universities.

But absent a seismic change in the tenor of the national political discussion, Lofgren, who represents Silicon Valley, offered little in the way of hope for the bill, which she said is broadly backed by key Democratic immigration reformers.

"How do we change the toxic environment that we're in, so that we allow reasonable people to do reasonable things in the best interest in the country?" Lofgren said. Speaking at an industry forum sponsored by the Computer & Communication Industry Association on Thursday, Lofgren said she wasn't out to "castigate" House Republican members nor was she yet offering a post-mortem on her effort. But she didn't offer a path for the bill's approval.

"I couldn't find -- and I spent months asking -- any Republicans willing to support the bill, even those I have worked with in the past," Lofgren said.

Lofgren's bill, which represented the Democrats' major push on tech reform, also has some H-1B reforms, including the elimination of three-year extensions of this visa for "exclusively temporary workers."