Posted on 06/22/2006 6:47:25 PM PDT by Shermy
When Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter stepped into the shower yesterday, it was an elusive immigration overhaul, not a slippery bar of soap, that he most hoped to keep within his grasp.
The Pennsylvania Republican wanted a way to counter the House GOP’s unusual post-passage hearings on the bill, which are sure to delay negotiations and give a platform to critics of the Senate’s “path to citizenship” for millions of illegal immigrants.
“I plan to hold some hearings of our own,” he told surprised reporters in the Capitol later in the day. “I just developed the idea this morning in the shower.”
Specter says he will start with a field hearing July 5 in Pennsylvania, the state he shares with fellow Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a leading foe of the bill who is in an uphill reelection bid.
Specter aims to sway the public rather than directly influence his congressional critics, he said. But his announcement had the feel of a return volley.
“I don’t start wars, but, if I’m forced to, I’ll participate,” he said.
The Senate version of the bill combines border security provisions with a guest-worker program and the controversial plan to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements. The measure is backed by a bipartisan set of senators who maintain that a deal can still be struck. It passed, 62-36, on May 25.
Opponents argue that the bill’s path to citizenship would amount to amnesty for people who broke the law to get into the country.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who voted against the bill, said he would consider attending Specter’s field hearings.
“A good place to have it would be in Arizona,” Kyl said.
“The more information the better,” said Amy Call, spokeswoman for Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who supported the Senate bill.
The House version of the measure, passed in December, focuses solely on border protection, and many conservatives in both chambers are dead-set against the Senate’s citizenship provisions.
The stalemate has been reinforced by procedural objections, foremost a House threat to “blue slip,” or kill, the Senate version on the grounds that only the House can originate changes to tax law.
Most observers interpreted Tuesday’s announcement that the House would hold hearings as a concession from GOP leaders that they cannot enact a law before the November election. But Specter said there is still time.
“I don’t think it’s a death knell,” he said, noting that deals can be struck quickly in the Capitol.
Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said that his position is somewhere between the House and Senate bills and that he believes negotiators can find common ground.
“I think there is a sweet spot out there,” Lott said. “If they’ll come see me, I’ll tell ’em how we can solve it.”
House Republican leaders said Tuesday that hearings would allow them to amplify objections to the Senate measure. The decision was announced after Speaker Dennis Hastert and other GOP leaders held a closed-door meeting with several committee chairmen.
Specter said his hearings are not intended to delay an overhaul that he supports.
“I’m doing it to develop a broader factual evidentiary record on the need for a comprehensive bill,” he said.
The hearings will be targeted at the public, he said, adding, “That’s what will influence the legislative process.”
One Pennsylvanian who already agrees with Specter on the immigration bill is Santorum’s November opponent, state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr.
Santorum trailed Casey, 52 to 34 percent, in a poll of 1,076 Pennsylvania voters released yesterday by Quinnipiac University. In the same poll, 52 percent said they approve of the way Specter is handling his job as senator but only 38 percent said the same of Santorum.
“I think Senator Santorum is stating his own views, and I respect them,” Specter said, noting that he does not think hearings will “impact significantly on the issue in the campaign for him.”
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), who became close to Santorum as a College Republican at Penn State University in the late 1970s, said discussion of the Senate immigration bill will cut to Santorum’s benefit.
“We need to stand back and let Americans understand what the Senate bill does,” Feeney said. “The Senate bill is a travesty.”
Specter tries own push on immigration
"...Specter said he would convene a hearing July 5 in Philadelphia to discuss the Senate bill, which would create a guest-worker program and a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants.
"Since the House is making a point of having hearings, we can, too," Specter said. "I'm doing it to develop a broader, factual, evidentiary record on the need for the comprehensive bill, which is challenged by quite a number of House members."..."
---Which begs the question, why didn't you have that during the Senate hearings? I suppose he's a true believer and didn't think that bill had to be rushed.
Ironic note about following the law...
Ping.
Specter is demented.
Once again making a Specter of himself...
I'm sure glad we haven't put him in a position of power. Oh wait...
Blah!
There goes dinner... Note to self: In the future, don't continue reading any article that starts off with Specter in the shower. It's more than I can take....
Fyi I noticed these memes rising through the media:
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/14872568.htm?source=rss&channel=inquirer_nation
""Bush has said that an immigration measure that includes improved border security, a guest-worker program, and a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants is a high priority.
and
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060622/ap_on_go_co/immigration_1
"...Kennedy and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona were the chief architects of the Senate bill. It became known as the Hagel-Martinez bill, after Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Mel Martinez, R-Fla., developed a compromise that, while allowing millions of illegal immigrants to stay, would make millions of others leave. Bush supports letting some illegal immigrants stay and eventually become citizens.""
This mischaracterization I bet is being pushed by the White House to make Bush's radical plans seem moderate, again. The Hagel bill was not a compromise of the Kennedy bill it was almost the same. It Amensties allmost all illegals here. The last sentence frames Bush as even more "moderate" than Hagel bill. However did he not publicly support the Hagel bill? I believe he did. Sounds like damage control to me.
Now theres a visual I could have done without..
The thought of Specter questing after a bar of soap in the shower is rather frightening.
I guess Specter will be calling the Illegals and their spokesmen to come before his panel. A few people screaming how they are the Americans and Europeans the illegal immigrants should help his cause.
I need a beer...
Yeah, and I wish you folks would quit bringing it up. LOL Just kidding...
""Specter is demented.""
You think holding hearings in Philly on the need not only for amnesty but additional new guest worker programs is demented? What's the unemployment rate there?...Yep, he is.
No Amnesty! No matter how much lipstick you put on the damn pig, its still a pig!
That's for sure.
Look at the House set up here, it's a 1-2-3 punch. What can the MSM do but declare the hearings are racist and hope people thereby will ignore them?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060622/ap_on_go_co/immigration_1
"""Also on the schedule are hearings July 5 in San Diego and July 7 in Laredo, Texas, on "Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism."
The House Education and Workforce Committee will hold a field hearing outside Washington in mid-July on making English the nation's official language and how enforcement of immigration laws affects U.S. workers. The location and date haven't been set.
And the House Government Reform Committee plans a hearing the week of Aug. 14 in Arizona focusing on costs to local, state and federal government "caused by an unsecured border."""
I agree. It actually looks pretty good. Too bad we don't hold the White House... on this issue.
Amen!
This is a joke, unless Specter holds his field hearings with La Raza and specially selected cronies his bill will get laughed out of every town.
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