President Bush made a rare visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday – as a lame duck president trying to salvage his top domestic priority.
His work is cut out for him.
Failure on immigration reform could mean Bush’s name will be forever linked in history books mostly with the bungled war in Iraq, and the prospects for an overhaul will fade until after he leaves office.
He needs to exert strong leadership and deliver the necessary votes to pass the legislation. Doing nothing will equate to what Sen. John McCain calls “silent amnesty.”
The president’s goal on Tuesday was to persuade enough skeptical Republicans – there are 38 of them, to be exact – to get behind a new system that prevents employers from hiring undocumented workers, creates a pathway to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants and tightens U.S. borders. Eleven Democrats also need some persuading.
Bush, with cellar-level approval ratings, doesn’t have a lot of political capital to expend, but he needs to convince nervous senators that they’re not that far apart on comprehensive immigration reform. He could use some help from Senate leader Harry Reid, too, who last week derided the measure as “the president’s bill.” They need to present a unified front.
The bill stalled last week when a majority of Republicans blocked a largely Democratic effort to fast-track it through the Senate. A procedural vote to end debate failed three times. In Congress, that’s usually a death sentence. But Bush vowed to resurrect it.
He’ll need to convince lawmakers that the current bill is not the 1986 law that granted 3 million people amnesty and promised to solve the immigration problem but never cracked down on businesses that knowingly hire illegal workers.
“The American people were sold a bill of goods” in 1986, said Sen. John Cornyn, R- Texas. “It didn’t work. We got an amnesty, and we got no enforcement. That is why people are so distrustful now.”
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar is, commendably, working with Bush to try to get the measure passed.
On his way home from Europe, Bush called Salazar, along with Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., two other bill sponsors, to discuss amendments to the legislation.
A majority of lawmakers support the bulk of the legislation. We remain hopeful that they can find a compromise on the remaining provisions.
The July 4 recess is fast approaching. It ought to be the Senate’s goal to approve the bill before Independence Day.
