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Johnson’s absence adds another obstacle facing immigration bill |
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By Manu Raju
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Posted: 06/26/07 07:10 PM [ET] |
With the possibility that the Senate might decide the fate of the immigration bill by the slimmest of margins, the continued absence of a low-profile Democratic senator has added to the roadblocks supporters face in pushing through the carefully negotiated compromise.
The brain hemorrhage Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) suffered in December will keep him on the sidelines during this week’s much-anticipated immigration debate. The episode has forced him to miss all 226 roll call votes the Senate has cast in the 110th Congress, including nine that have been decided by a one-vote margin.
Johnson last year supported the broad immigration overhaul bill that passed the Senate but failed to clear Congress, and helped fend off amendments pro-immigration groups staunchly opposed. And he is a backer of a legalization program for the country’s 12 million illegal immigrants, a pillar of this year’s bill.
The narrowly divided Senate today is expected to approve a motion to proceed to debating the overall bill for the second time this month and possibly the final time this Congress. But it is far from clear how this week’s debate will shake out. Of the expected two dozen amendments the Senate will consider over the next few days, most of the votes will be close, according to both supporters and detractors.
Adding any amendment that strikes at the heart of the bipartisan compromise bill could prompt some supporters to withdraw their backing. And the prospects that Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) will be able to shut down debate and
bring the bill to a final vote later this week are murky at best.
Critics of the bill are regaining two votes this week: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who was out for almost two weeks after he had a benign tumor removed from his pituitary gland, and Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, who was sworn in yesterday to replace the late Craig Thomas (R) and is expected to be a reliable conservative vote in the Senate.
That makes Johnson’s loss all the more difficult for supporters of the immigration bill to swallow.
“This is like two kids that weigh the same and are sitting at opposite ends of the seesaw,” said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, an influential supporter of the bill. “Not having Johnson’s weight on there to keep it balanced is a problem.”
While Johnson’s office has not said whether the senator would vote for the underlying bill, a statement he issued last month indicated that he was inclined to support the overhaul — which, in addition to the legalization program, would create a new temporary guest-worker program, alter how immigrants are selected for visas and add enforcement measures along the U.S. border.
“It would be impossible to deport a population the size of Ohio,” Johnson said in a statement in May when the Senate took its first crack at the bill. “True immigration reforms need real solutions, rather than bumper sticker slogans and punitive-but-unachievable strategies.”
Johnson, who is in therapy five days a week for several hours a day, is working from home. Earlier this month, his doctor reported that he will able to resume his duties as a senator, but his office has not indicated when he might return to Capitol Hill.
“He wants to be back more than anybody else, but first things first,” Johnson’s spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher, said. She acknowledged there are “certainly some things where his vote was needed along the way.”
Johnson’s vote could be crucial when the Senate takes up an amendment by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), a revised version of a plan that failed 48-49 last month. His amendment would allow states to inquire about an immigrant’s legal status. Bill supporters say, as a result, racial profiling could increase and immigrants would have less incentive to cooperate with police or seek emergency care.
During last year’s immigration debate, Johnson voted in favor of killing a controversial plan, 50-49, limiting Social Security benefits for certain immigrants. This year, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has revived a similar plan, which has generated tremendous controversy among the immigrant community.
The votes could be close on other controversial plans, including an enforcement package being drafted by three Republicans who also helped craft the compromise bill: Sens. Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Mel Martinez (Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). The amendment, aimed at attracting skeptical Republicans, would detain and deport any foreigner who overstays his or her visa, and would speed up the “touchback” requirements for illegal immigrants to return to their home countries before receiving a new visa.
Supporters note Johnson’s absence may be greater than just losing one vote, arguing that he may have added a much-needed voice among Western Democrats to back the broad bill. Earlier this month, five of the 10 Democrats who voted against Reid’s final effort to shut down debate over the bill came from Western states.
“Without that kind of leadership, what you end up having are, a number of these Democrats ... reverting back to more nativist positions,” said Rich Stolz, a policy specialist for the Center for Community Change, which wants the Senate to approve the bill this week.
Lisa Chapman contributed to this story.
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