|
GOPers seek emergency funds as immigration bill languishes |
|
By Manu Raju and Elana Schor
|
|
Posted: 06/13/07 07:14 PM [ET] |
Senior GOP senators are embracing an eleventh-hour plan to pass an emergency supplemental bill for more border security money as a strategy to win over Republicans who have balked at the bipartisan immigration bill languishing in the Senate.
But even as the emergency-spending approach gained momentum yesterday during President Bush’s rare visit to the Senate, the immigration bill’s strongest supporters warned that time is running out for an agreement to bring the measure back to the floor.
Bush made no commitments as to whether he would propose an emergency supplemental bill — an idea floated by Georgia Republicans Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. The duo, lapsed members of the bipartisan team that crafted the immigration deal, candidly told Bush that voters could not trust his administration to enforce border-security laws.
“The lack of credibility the federal government has on this issue gives merit to the skepticism of many about future immigration reform,” the Georgians wrote in a letter to the president.
Several Democrats questioned whether a weakened president could sway Republicans who have excoriated his immigration plan.
“It may be too little, too late,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who last week voted with his leaders to cut off debate on the bill despite serious qualms with the underlying legislation. “It’s not clear to me that he has the capital and clout in his party to change minds.”
Bush’s visit to a Senate GOP policy luncheon — his first since 2001 and 10th visit to the Capitol since he took office — won praise from some Republicans. They called the president’s message an emotional plea to pass the bipartisan immigration bill, which would combine new border-security measures with a plan to create a path for citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants.
He did not appear to win over hard-line Republican opponents, who told Bush to back off on an immigration overhaul instead of trying to broker a deal in the coming weeks.
“I did tell him that in there — I thought we oughta let it cool off and rethink how to approach it,” said Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who is holding a fundraiser in the state on Friday that Bush plans to attend. “I don’t think it’s smart to try to rush back up and force something through at this point.”
Senate GOP Conference Chairman Jon Kyl (Ariz.), along with Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.), said they supported the idea of pushing ahead with an emergency supplemental. While Chambliss and Isakson did not include a suggested spending level for their emergency supplemental bill, the price tag is certain to be steep.
At a minimum, aides said, the Republicans are seeking full funding for the border-security barriers and employer verification system authorized by this year’s immigration bill; the border fence approved by last year’s GOP-controlled Congress; and the thousands of new Border Patrol and customs enforcement agents authorized in 2004 but not yet paid for.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), another senior member in the immigration talks, said the proposal was well-received but noted that offsetting it would be crucial.
Bipartisan negotiations over the measure continued through yesterday, and aides and senators said they were nearing a dozen amendments to present to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the hopes he would schedule floor time before the July 4 recess. Kyl, an influential emissary between conservatives and immigration negotiators, met late yesterday with a core group of allies to discuss a list of about a dozen desired amendments that Republicans could present to Reid.
The list, one Republican aide said, would cover “senators who needed to be heard and policy changes that appeal to our folks.” Yet it remains unclear whether votes on those dozen changes would secure enough Republican votes to overcome continued objections from a few stalwart opponents of the bill.
Reid would not say whether he would support an emergency spending bill. He told The Hill yesterday that he would not bring the bill to the floor unless it appeared there were 60 votes needed to overcome any procedural hurdles. Last week, seven Republicans joined 38 Democrats in voting to shut down debate on the immigration bill, while 10 Democrats and one independent joined 39 Republicans to continue debating the measure, which would give 12 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
“What this all boils down to is the Republicans do not support their own president’s bill, and that was proven on Thursday,” Reid told reporters after the Democratic policy luncheon. “I hope they change.”
As Bush descended on Capitol Hill, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff suggested to reporters that if the Senate does not act “within the next couple weeks” the bill could be dead for the 110th Congress.
“As long as we can get the bill back up within a very short period of time, there is no harm done,” said Chertoff, who said that the Georgians’ funding plan was still on the table. “What we can’t afford to do is let this languish beyond that period of time.”
Similarly, Bush challenged Reid to bring the bill back to the floor.
“I would hope that the Senate majority leader has that same sense of desire to move the product that I do — or the bill that I do, and these senators do, because now is the time to get it done,” Bush said in brief remarks to reporters. |
