Posted on 06/14/2007 3:55:45 PM PDT by Alaphiah123
Key senators tentatively agreed on a plan to revive a stalled immigration bill on Thursday, aided by President Bush's support for a quick $4.4 billion aimed at "securing our borders and enforcing our laws at the work site."
Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said Republican and Democratic supporters of the bill were presenting their proposal to the Senate's top two leaders, who in turn arranged an early evening meeting to discuss it.
Precise details to be presented to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were not disclosed.
In general, according to officials familiar with the discussions, Republicans and Democrats would each be accorded roughly a dozen chances to amend the measure, with the hope that they would then combine to provide the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by die-hard opponents. The officials who described the emerging plan did so on condition of anonymity, saying the negotiations had been conducted in private.
The legislation has generated intense controversy, particularly for provisions envisioning eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million immigrants now in the country unlawfully. The bill also calls for greater border security and a crackdown on the hiring of illegal employees.
"We're going to show the American people that the promises in this bill will be kept," Bush said, two days after launching a personal rescue mission.
Any agreement is subject to approval by Reid, who has said repeatedly it is up to Bush and Republicans to line up the votes needed to advance the measure if it is to be brought back to the Senate for debate. Reid, who has expressed misgivings about elements of the bill, sidetracked it last week after supporters gained only 45 of the 60 votes needed.
Republicans accounted for only seven of the 45 votes, and Reid said earlier this week, "We'll move on to immigration when they have their own act together."
Bush's decision to personally announce support for the accelerated funding reflected concerns expressed by Republican senators at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday. Several told him their constituents doubted the government was capable of following through on a commitment to enforce immigration laws.
In a letter sent to Bush before the meeting, Georgia Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson wrote, "This lack of trust is rooted in the mistakes made in 1986, and the continued chaos surrounding our immigration laws. Understandably, the lack of credibility the federal government has on this issue gives merit to the skepticism of many about future immigration reform."
Under the legislation as drafted, money for border enforcement would be collected gradually as illegal immigrants pay the fines and fees needed to achieve legal status. The letter asked Bush to secure the border before other elements of the immigration measure go into effect, and the president agreed in his remarks to the Associated Builders and Contractors.
"One common concern is whether the government will provide the resources to meet the goals in the bill. They say, 'It's fine to talk about it, are you actually going to do something?'" he said.
"To answer these concerns I support an amendment that will provide $4.4 billion in immediate additional funding for securing our borders and enforcing our laws at the work site," he said.
"By matching our benchmarks with these critical funds, we're going to show the American people that the promises in this bill will be kept."
Two Republican supporters of the legislation, Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jon Kyl of Arizona, had previously proposed advanced funding.
"The moment the presidential signing pen meets the paper these funds will be available," Graham said in a statement welcoming Bush's remarks.
But Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., an opponent of the legislation, took a different view. "I appreciate the effort to fund border security, but there's simply no reason why we should be forced to tie amnesty to it. If the administration was serious about fulfilling the border security promises, then this funding should have been supported all along, not offered at the last minute to attract votes to a bad bill."
Even a decision to return the bill to the Senate floor does not guarantee its passage, given the intense opposition. "We've got people out there on both sides really ready to burn the place down," said Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the second-ranking Republican. "I don't think we ought to let that happen."
The calendar, too, presents obstacles to any attempt to pass the measure before the Senate begins a scheduled vacation in two weeks. Should they choose, critics of the immigration measure could slow progress on other measures Reid wants debated in the next two weeks. The effect would be to further reduce prospects for passage of the immigration bill.
The purpose is not to “sink us”; the purpose is to replace the old conservative base with a new “obedient” peon base that will do what it is told. Conservatives are being thrown overboard by Jorge so his nephew, George P. Bush aka “44” can continue the Bushist dynasty. If you think “King George Bush II” is bad, just wait til you are stuck with the new “King George the Third” with the help of millions of legal illegal alien votes.
I had a bunch of old unspent pesos around the house that I sent.
True legal tender worth less than a penny a piece. Even that is more than they deserve.
As Newt Gingrich said, it’s blackmail.
G-d damn this phony “president.”
Since my two senators of Dumbocrats, I just sent emails urging opposition to Senators Kyl, Graham (no hope), McConnell, Cochrane, Allard, Coleman, and Corker.
George W. Bush - the president who sold the United States down the river. In a few hundred years, when the history books discuss the former United States, Bush will be identified as the primary contributor to the downfall of this once great nation.
Unless and until Compean and Ramos are completely exonerated (not just pardoned,) and those responsible for their unjust prosecution and conviction are themselves in Federal prison, there is no way any offer or promise to improve border security can be taken at all seriously.
Presidente Americano pasado
You’re forgiven. Sure hope they can come up with a good conservative candidate to challenge him in the primary next year. Too bad our boy Martinez doesn’t have to run soon.
Doesn’t any bill that proposes spending money have to originate in the House?
A single Senator can prevent the suggested amendments from being even debated. It requires unanimous consent to move forward with those amendments. To do otherwise would violate Senate rules. Someone like Sessions or Demint can raise an objection to the unanimous consent request and stop the amendment from being brought up for a vote. This is the same thing Sessions did before the last cloture vote which failed. It can be done again.
Irregardless of Senate procedure, the $4.4 billion in funds is just a sop to get conservative Senators to buy off the amnesty bill as a whole. That will not happen as long as the amnesty and guest worker portions of the bill remain intact. Besides, are there not funds in the current fiscal year’s appropriations to build the border fence and hire more agents. If so where’s the fence and the additional Border Control officers. Has ICE been expanded in the last 6+ years. Have we controlled the border? Have we stopped the hiring of illegal aliens? No, No and No. Stop this nonsense. Build the fence, fine the illegal alien employers and employees, secure the border and enforce the law, period. Will that actually happen, I doubt it but it is worth a try.
I hope they heard me today because I popped over to Cornyn’s Houston office at lunch (down the road from my job). I was armed with a yellowed letter from 1976 that President Ford wrote me when I was a Young Rep in college. I also brought an old picture of my dorm room door which had a Reagan sticker plastered on it (before the 76 primary). I told the deputy director that I was a member of the base that is being betrayed. I implored him to tell Senator Cornyn not to back down in spite of the threats and bullying and that if he says no, in spite of whatever happens, he will go down as a hero in the eyes of the American people. If a phone call is worth a thousand emails, I hope a personal visit was worth a thousand calls.
Where are the REAL American Senators. The True Patriots that BLIEVE in the Precious Land?
:We The Peiple” as our preamble starts say “NO” to this moronic piece of legislation.
I will be changing my FR ID because I’m NO LONGER “Bushman2”
Do You Care, George?
Hoping to avoid a visit by the Secret Service tonight.
Outstanding activity.
But I don’t like your screen name, “Rep No More.” It seems to contradict your claim to be part of the “base.” Sounds to me like you’re trying to have it both ways.
Pesos — heh, good one!
Wish they did too. Their spokesman sent a fax to be posted today but never came back. Thread has over 800 replies and some very good questions and ways to control illegal immigration.
If they read some of these threads, they would realize that a lot of us so disgusted by this have been long time Bush supporters but disagree with him completely on this. We are not a group that is always against the President — it has pained a lot of us to come out in open to finally say enough is enough. I am proud to stand with my Senator Jim Inhofe in opposing this bill. Senators Inhofe, Sessions, Coburn and others are right to oppose this bill IMHO.
nhofe, Sessions, DeMint and others are REAL heroes for not backing down on this.
Bingo! All talk but when the chips are down and they need to stand up for the American people, where were they?
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