BURN THIS KRAP~~~KILL DAT BILL~~~KILL IT NOW~~~
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.
“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.”
I hope you are right.
Won’t happen. Those illegal voters if they decide to vote will definitely go Democrat, Bush or not withstanding. They believe that it is the Democrats who are “compassionate” to the downtrodden, and they will always think so. Many think Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat too.
;^)
He cares about those other than you.
Of course we are...bought sold and paid for by the internationalists who want to tear down America in order the m ake their third world countries work.
PhiKapMom, when are you going to apologize to me for calling me a Democrat plant several years ago. I wish these betrayals were not so, but I don’t think we have seen the last of the betrayals. Frist and Lott actually made Dole look good by comparison. And Elizabeth has been far better than expected even if she would prefer to be with the liberals too. When the establishment wants something badly, it gets what it wants. There is little that we can do. Senator Coburn has been quiet lately.
I hope they get a pile of em’,,,If this KRAP passes it’s
“GAME OVER” for this Country as We know it,,,Just count the VOTES!!!,,,50,000,000 Mexicans/ETC. will vote (D)for the most part,,,just like in the past,,,AND,,,,,THEN,,,,,
~~~~~~~~WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER/NAU~~~~~~~~~~
KILL THE BILL !!!!! NOW !!!!!
You are so right — they seem to like to play defense. Sen Inhofe hates playing defense and is still going on the offense against bad bills. Not going to quiet him in the Senate or Coburn or Sessions for starters.
I don’t remember that but if I did, I apologize. Senator Coburn had surgery this week to check out a growth to make sure the cancer had not come back and will be out of action until the end of the month. It wasn’t cancer.
“How about impeachment of Congress then?”
That happens in the ballot box ...
To make sure that the dragon of amnesty-for-illegals is really slain, here is what the conservative Republican base needs to do. We need ... OPERATION PAYBACK:
1. Defeat Lindsay Graham in the GOP primary.
2. Defeat Chuck Hagel in the GOP primary next year or force him to quit.
3. End John McCain’s presidential hopes. His support level needs to be between and asterisk and the 10th runner up.
4. Defeat all pro-amnesty Democrat Senators next year. They include:
- Biden, Durbin, Harkin, Kerry, Lautenberg, Levin, Reed.
5. Serve notice to all other ‘squishy’ GOP types that their misbehavior on immigration must end and we must have a united GOP behind the idea of “Enforcement First”.
6. Continue to pressure the White House to give up their Amnesty-Jihad. No rhetorical support for a White House that disses its own base, until it throws in the towel.
And I'm not surprised the find that Jellyfish Lott is involved with working closely with the Democrats.
Karl Rove Amnesty Plan.
“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.”
Yes, but American Patriots (they still exist) prefer to live in a Free Republic founded on liberty and rule of law, and not a Latin-American Banana-Plantation Kleptocracy, founded on Socialism and corrupt rule-of-personality.
How can our own leaders be so clueless. They know not what they do.
End of Story.
No. Actually they plan to take out a "loan" from the treasury which they say will be paid back with the revenue generated from the fines and fees all the illegals are supposed to pay after the bill becomes law.
Hopefully there are enough Representatives in the House that will stand up and tell the Senate that the Constitution states clearly that bills for raising revenue are to be originated in their chamber and then they'll throw it out.
Not holding my breath though.
BURN THIS KRAP~~~KILL DAT BILL~~~KILL IT NOW~~~
Yes, but American Patriots (they still exist) prefer to live in a Free Republic founded on liberty and rule of law, and not a Latin-American Banana-Plantation Kleptocracy, founded on Socialism and corrupt rule-of-personality.
How can our own leaders be so clueless. They know not what they do.
Those that fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. We American Patriots on the other hand will learn from history and once again defeat the elites, to not fight with all our breath and soul would be a betrayal of all those who came before us. They stazrted it we shall end it. Mel Gibson where are you?
This bill is how he extracts revenge.
Are you not keeping up with the news? This bill would have never been brought back without the cooperation/push from McConnell. You can kiss wishy washy McConnell goodbye too.
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