Posted on 03/17/2006 6:26:17 AM PST by Cboldt
Frustrated by the Senate Judiciary Committee's slow progress on politically sensitive immigration legislation, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) introduced his own bill last night to secure the nation's borders and crack down on illegal immigration.
Frist's bill will go directly to the full Senate. But he said he will allow Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to substitute a committee bill if Specter's panel could approve one March 27. Otherwise, the majority leader will stick to a strict, two-week schedule to finish work on what he conceded would be "as challenging a bill as any we'll have to address this year."
The majority leader's power move stunned committee Republicans and Democrats, who have been struggling for three weeks to reach agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill. Specter said he objected to the maneuver. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The link is live. In addition to introducing the bill, Senator Frist introduced a cloture motion signed by 17 Senators. He indicated thatteh cloture vote would be held on Tuesday, March 28.
The majority leader's power move stunned committee Republicans and Democrats,
Frist is serious - seriously paying attention to the mood of the public. Is he up for reelection this year?
Heh. Take that, Jim Kolbe.
ping
He voluntarily term-limited himself and while he would be up for reelection he is not running.
But as another poster noted, it is apparent that he IS in the preliminary stage of running for President.
I have always considered Frist kind of a wimp but if he salvages an enforcement only immigration reform bill in the Senate I will be giving him a serious reevaluation. I might also expect Tancredo to do likewise because he has been begging for a Republican Presidential Candidate to pick up the border enforcement mantle.
"Is he up for reelection this year?"
His term expires but he's not runnung for the Senate.
Thanks for the info.
Bill Frist's enforcement only bill meshes very well with the House bill. I'm praying that it prevails and the Senate-House conference will then proceed to turn out a decent measure. It can happen.
Such a result would give me 70% of what I want which is a lot better than what traitors such as Specter, Kennedy and Cornyn are sponsoring. Why are they traitors? Because they trash our national sovereignty and reward foreign born law breakers (illegal immigrants)
Thanks for the ping. I don't know if he is up for reelection or not. I read part of his bill and it sounds good =so far. He is even going after drunk drivers to get them out of the country.
I'll read this later today to make sure I have read it correctly.
"The majority leader's power move stunned committee Republicans and Democrats, "
they're stunned only because Frist has BA*LS. as Rush was saying yesterday and Savage has been saying for years, american men have been feminized and deBA*LED, and that goes for the swimmer, corny, the ghost, and maverick.
Thanks for the link to the bill S2454. Securing Americas borders Act.
My pleasure. I was "watching" as the measure was introduced last night. There was no fanfare or discussion whatsoever, probably only two Senators in the chamber. I'm sure the event was well anticipated by the Senate, since Frist -immediately- followed up with a cloture motion signed by 17 Senators, and since Frist had been in regular communications with the Judiciary Committee.
Could be a topic of discussion on the Sunday talk shows for more than one cycle, because the Senate is off until March 27th.
In the sense that it is enforcement only it meshes. But it is much weaker than the House version.
Frist says he is going to lop off and only present the enforcement provisions of the Arlen Sphinctor Bill. The enforcement measures in that bill are essentially the same as what Kyl and Cornyn had proposed: better than McCainneddy but not much! I think they call for about 50 miles of fence (vs 700 in the House Bill) and reauthorizing the hiring of the 10,000 new agents that were authorized back in December of 2004 (nothing new) and a few new detention beds, a few new interior enforcement agents. The only thing really good that it had was mandatory workplace social security number verification against a database.
But you are right. At least it is a decent starting place and it is NOT SHAMNESTY!
If this passes, I'd bet good money we'll see the President's first veto...
All this still has to be passed, and enforced!! and I don't like the stuff the fence proposal instead of just building one and getting it over with.
Very comprehensive bill.
I doubt it. The White House is officially on record as supporting the House Bill.
They will just do what they have always done. Ignore the parts of the law that they don't want to enforce.
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