Posted on 10/21/2004 10:42:47 PM PDT by seastay
WASHINGTON — House Republicans, who had been criticized for weeks as obstacles to a bill consolidating authority over the nation's intelligence services, offered a compromise Wednesday that they said could get the bill finished before the Nov. 2 elections.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House-Senate negotiating committee to reconcile differences in the House-passed and Senate-passed intelligence reform bills, announced the proposal at the end of the committee's first formal meeting.
Details of the proposal were expected to be released sometime today.
House Democrats immediately cried foul, saying they were excluded from crafting the compromise. Many House Democrats voted against the bill, which contained immigration and law enforcement measures that they said were extraneous.
But Senate negotiators, who on Tuesday said they believed House Republicans were unwilling to compromise, said they were eager to hear Hoekstra's ideas.
"If we're going to make progress, a global offer... is a significant step forward," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who co-wrote the Senate bill.
The White House is pushing for a signing ceremony before the election. In addition, members of the Sept. 11 commission have warned that the nation is vulnerable to future attacks if authority over intelligence remains fragmented, and family members of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have demanded action.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill would create a national intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center to coordinate the collection and analysis of intelligence across all 15 intelligence agencies. But the Senate would give the director considerably more authority than the House.
And the House bill contains law enforcement, border security and immigration provisions that are not in the Senate's version of the legislation.
It would streamline deportations of some categories of illegal immigrants and broaden law enforcement surveillance powers over suspected terrorists who are not connected to any organization.
The bill also would increase border patrol officers and impose federal standards for driver's licenses.
We need to call our senators at let them know we support the 9-11 commission's suggestions immigration reform . We can bet the illegal immigration lobbyist are buttering the senators tortillas right now, so we need to get our voice heard ASAP.
also see : "White House rejects clauses on immigration" Washington Times ^ | 10/20/04 | http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1250907/posts
If Bush wants a signing ceremony before the election, he needs to forget about his precious illegal aliens for uno momento.
That Bush seems so intent to please natural Kerry supporters instead of the vast mainstream on this issue is just damn bizarre, and very frustrating.
Only in Washington D.C. could provisions that speed up the deportation of illegal aliens, tightens asylum requirements, and bans the use of the illegal alien Matricular consular card, be considered controversial.
All three of those things would be very popular with the vast majority of Americans.
CALL THE WHITE HOUSE TO STOP PRESSURING CONGRESS TO DROP THE IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS OF H.R. 10
This is, perhaps, the most urgent alert we have sent you all year. If you are at all able, please phone the White House today or tomorrow and ask them to stop pressuring Congress to strip the immigration provisions of H.R. 10.
Our Capitol Hill team has learned that the White House is applying severe pressure to House and Senate Conferees, as well as House and Senate Leadership, to strip the immigration provisions of H.R. 10. The White House has launched a full-scale attack on the immigration provisions of H.R. 10.
If you are able to take only one action to stop illegal immigration for the rest of the year, please make this call!
WHITE HOUSE COMMENT TEL.LINE:
Here is the number for the White House Comment line:
202-456-1111 & 202-456-1414
Persuading the White House to stop pressuring Congress to gut the immigration provisions of H.R. 10 may be our last chance to make sure the immigration-related recommendations of the 9-11 Commission that we have fought so hard for all month make it into the final version of the bill to respond to the recommendations of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission).
WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU CALL
Your message can be as simple as:
"My name is _______, and I am calling to ask the President to stop pressuring Congress to drop any of the immigration provisions of H.R. 10."
If you have additional time, you might want to add some of the following:
This is an issue of national security. The immigration provisions of H.R. 10 were recommended in the 9-11 Commission's report. The 9/11 Families for a Secure America say, 'Only HR 10, without weakening amendments, does what the 9/11 Commission recommended' on immigration."
Just weeks prior to the election, it may concern voters to learn that the White House is leading the effort to strip the immigration provisions of H.R. 10."
IF YOU HAVE TIME FOR TWO CALLS, CALL HOUSE AND SENATE GOP LEADERSHIP
If you can only make one call, please call the White House.
House and Senate GOP Leadership are under tremendous pressure from the White House to cave and gut the immigration provisions of H.R. 10. That is why it is so important that the House and Senate GOP Leadership hear from Americans who want them to keep the immigration provisions of H.R. 10 in the final bill. Your phone calls will help give them the support they need to stand firm and support the immigration provisions of H.R. 10.
WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU CALL THE LEADERSHIP
Your message can be as simple as:
"My name is ___________, and I am calling to urge Senator ______ (or Representative ______) to resist White House pressure to give up the immigration provisions of H.R. 10"
If given more time you might want to add: I hope Sen./Rep. ______ understands that: 1) immigration reform must be an integral part of any 9/11 response, as the 9/11 Commission clearly pointed out; and 2) the most important immigration provisions in the house bill -- secure ID documents for everyone, expedited removal of certain aliens who enter the country illegally, and the increase in Border Patrol and ICE agents -- come directly from the Commission's report.
BACKGROUND H.R. 10, the primary legislative response in the House of Representatives to the recommendations of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission), was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, October 8th. A Senate 9-11 response bill, S. 2845, which includes NO immigration provisions, was earlier passed by the Senate. The 9-11 Commission made several recommendations with regard to immigration that, in the Commission's opinion, would increase security and help prevent a future attack. Many of the Commission's immigration recommendations were included in H.R. 10 such as provisions to: prohibit driver's licenses to illegal aliens; expedite removal of illegal aliens; increase Border Patrol and ICE agents; and prevent Federal agencies from accepting or recognizing consular ID as valid proof of identity. Every one of the immigration provisions recommended by the 9-11 Commission would help reduce illegal immigration and improve homeland security. Together, they would make major strides toward reducing the current illegal alien population of some 8-11 million and toward preventing future illegal immigration. Now House and Senate Conferees will hammer out in Conference Committee a final bill based on H.R. 10 and S. 2845.
GOP HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERSHIP PHONE LIST
BTTT
HOWEVER, if the WH believes that passing that now would adversely affect the re-election of President Bush, then I stand with the WH.
Here's my reasoning. If Kerry is elected, we all know what will happen - and it ain't good. OTH, if President Bush is re-elected and has long coat-tails, we have veto proof control of Congress and can then pass the needed reforms.
Think 'strategery' (as Rush would say).
"Agreed that immigration reform and better border protection is needed"
Well at leat we can agree on something....
As far as who's policies will be leading our county it doesn't matter in this part of the country, since here these polices are overshadowed by our local governments being corrupted and influenced out of Mexico city .
For example, most government positions in this county cannot be appointed unless the applicant speaks spanish, which leads to most positions of management and control of tax dollars being run by sympathizers to the Mexican president and not the US president. So what does it matter to us who wins here?
Election strategy is a joke in this part of the country and most people know it. Bush would win in a landslide here if he came out in favor of illgratin reform now!
If this bill comes out of conference and has to be voted on, all the members have to go to DC to do this. That means Republicans lose at least three campaign days (two to travel, and one to vote) this close to the election.
I can't imagine which genius on the WH staff came up with this little gem.
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