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Title: Senators to Revive Immigration Bill: Senators Agree on Plan to Revive Stalled Immigration Compromise; Bush Accelerates Border Funds
Source:
ABC News (AP)
URL Source: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3280210
Published: Jun 14, 2007
Author: DAVID ESPO
Post Date: 2007-06-14 19:05:29 by aristeides
Keywords: None
Views: 107
Comments: 8
Senators to Revive Immigration Bill Senators Agree on Plan to Revive Stalled Immigration Compromise; Bush Accelerates Border Funds By DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent 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.
WASHINGTON Jun 14, 2007 (AP)
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#1. To: All (#0)
If something along these lines actually passes, the bases of both parties will be very unhappy with their parties.
To reason, indeed, he was not in the habit of attending. His mode of arguing, if it is to be so called, was one not uncommon among dull and stubborn persons, who are accustomed to be surrounded by their inferiors. He asserted a proposition; and, as often as wiser people ventured respectfully to show that it was erroneous, he asserted it again, in exactly the same words, and conceived that, by doing so, he at once disposed of all objections. - Macaulay, "History of England," Vol. 1, Chapter 6, on James II.
aided by President Bush's threat of an Excutive Order implementing his immigration reform plan......
The Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
LOL! They still haven't gotten around the fact that this bill was started in the wrong chamber! But hey, why let the Constitution stand in their way!
The only reason this is being reintroduced is that Bush wants something, ANYTHING, except Iraq to be remembered for. As far as I can see, it's dead meat. Most people prefer the status quo to this mess. If the right wing REALLY wants to get rid of illegal immigrants, the solution is obvious. Just find a way to re-elect Smirky and in another four years, our economy will be so bad we'll be sneaking into Mexico looking for jobs.
"Key PoliticoWhores agreed on a plan to revive Chimp's stalled amnesty bill regardless of overwhelming opposition by the people they supposedly represent. StateInc tells citizens to go screw themselves."
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition And the fact that it originates in the wrong chamber.
You don't really think their representatives give a fukk, do you?
"First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you. Then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
Good journalism.
"First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you. Then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
#2. To: aristeides (#0)
aided by President Bush's
#3. To: aristeides (#0)
money for border enforcement would be collected gradually as illegal immigrants pay the fines and fees needed to achieve legal status.
It's not Global Warming, it's Ice Age Abatement.
#4. To: aristeides (#0)
#5. To: aristeides (#0)
(Edited)
Key senators tentatively agreed on a plan to revive a stalled immigration bill on Thursday
#6. To: IndieTX (#5)
regardless of overwhelming opposition by the people
It's not Global Warming, it's Ice Age Abatement.
#7. To: aristeides (#1)
If something along these lines actually passes, the bases of both parties will be very unhappy with their parties.
#8. To: IndieTX (#5)
"Key PoliticoWhores agreed on a plan to revive Chimp's stalled amnesty bill regardless of overwhelming opposition by the people they supposedly represent. StateInc tells citizens to go screw themselves."
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