Hopes for a quick compromise on immigration were dealt a blow Tuesday after House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he wanted to take a "long look" at a Senate bill offering possible citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants.
Hastert said hearings on the Senate bill should be held before appointing anyone to a House-Senate committee to negotiate a compromise immigration bill. Later, he said he was unsure what the House's next move would be.
"We're going to take a long look at it," Hastert said late Tuesday.
House Majority Leader John Boehner agreed. "I think we should know clearly what's in the Senate bill," Boehner said. But he added there are lots of ways to understand its contents.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, also scheduled a hearing for Monday to review provisions in the bill requiring employers to verify that their workers are legal.
Cornyn said he opposes a provision allowing workers to use up to 20 documents to verify they are legal workers. Also, the Department of Homeland Security has raised concerns about how quickly it must have in place an electronic system that employers will use to verify their workers legal status, Cornyn's spokesman Don Stewart said.
"This will give us a chance to look at it in more detail," Cornyn said.
Sending a bill that has already passed the Senate to hearings would be a highly unusual move and make completing a final bill before Congress goes on its summer recess in August far less likely. Disagreement on procedural issue has kept negotiations from starting, but there were hopes that could be resolved this week.
"It's an obvious retreat from where we are," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The Senate passed a sweeping immigration bill nearly three weeks ago. The bill offers most illegal immigrants in the country and future guest workers a path to citizenship.
Last December, the House passed a bill focused on enforcement. It doesn't offer eventual citizenship to illegal immigrants or create a guest worker program. There are many other significant differences in the bills.
The day the Senate bill was approved, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. said waiting to negotiate a final bill would be "irresponsible." Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, echoed his comments a day later, saying voters should be able to assess when they go to the ballot box in November how their lawmakers did on the issue.
Rep. Lamar Smith, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said holding hearings on the Senate bill makes "great sense."
The recent election victory of Republican Brian Bilbray, who made tough anti-immigration measures a centerpiece of his campaign, "changed a lot of people's thinking on the issue," he said. "It shows how politically advantageous it is to talk about the issue and what you would do and what the federal government should do."
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., urged Hastert to drop any plans for hearings.
"Hearings might be beneficial if there was a lack of attention or knowledge on this issue in the House, but that's certainly not the case," Flake said in a statement.
Flake sponsored an early version of the Senate bill with Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., who also called for the bill to move forward.
"Only a small, vocal faction wants to stop a sensible guest-worker program and ignore the reality of the 11 million undocumented living in the country now," Kolbe said in a statement. "We must not let any delays impede our progress toward solving this problem."
Hoping or not hoping, dear mpod, won't change anything. It will be what it will be, but it will be sooner or later. It's all a tricky (I like the word lately) political game right now before the elections. Reps are in between the door but they know that to back out and shut the door is impossible as well as uncertain where they'll go if they close the door behind. "Looking closer" at the bill is just an excuse. It is quite funny though because it tells the nation they are a bunch of illiterate losers who didnt even read the bill...
I would die gladly for America, or, at very worst, get deported, but I wouldn't want to stay illegally in US while these Bills are debated.
I hope that whatever the outcome but the Immigration Reform gets enacted quickly, and I also hope that it would be the one best serving interests of the United States of America.
Regards,
IE
Posts: 2501 | Location: NJ, USA | Registered: 03-11-2006
It wasn't perfect but at least it was a start. S.2611 was (or still is) a bill that considered the whole immigration issue instead of bits and pieces. It could be improved, but that's true about almost any bill. The way things are looking it wouldn't be a big surprise if no bill is signed into law this year, but now there's a precedent and a very substantial one that could prompt affirmative action in the year(s) to come.
I've had enough of those, I need peace. Everyone needs it to be able to stop thinking about a piece of meat in the stomach and start thinking about a piece of mind in the head.
Finally, someone is listening to the American people.
Remember: Illegal aliens don't count. Waving Mexican flags and screeching, "Viva Mexico," on the streets of America is NOT a sign of assimilation...quite the opposite, in fact.
The American people are oppesed to amnesty for illegal aliens, and, finally, the Congress has heard.
Most probably there wont be a bill this year but at lest there was some movement. I think by the next elections (2008) there will be something sighed into law since the problem is too big to ignore. Also dont forget that the democrats have a very good chance to take over the House which if haappens will help in many ways.
no, what I mean is that higher needs like 'self-actualization needs' emerge only after lower needs (physiologigal, safety) are fulfilled.
In other words people degradate after experiencing constant hardships of life, because they don't get a change to get to the 'top of the pyramid' and are forced to fight for their most basic needs.
it is indeed a basic insticts , and only when combined with love can be one of the Highest spiritual drives, that is only essential for human beings, and that's why they are most developed creatures on this planet, and maybe in this universe.
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