Washington – Senate leaders reached a deal Thursday night to revive stalled immigration legislation after days of intense talks and a rare presidential salvage mission to the Capitol.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a brief joint statement, saying that they had met with key lawmakers and that the bill would “return to the Senate floor.”
The Senate could relaunch debate next week, as soon as it finishes an energy bill, and would aim to complete it before the end of the month.
The controversial bill kicked up fierce objections among U.S.conservatives who derided it as amnesty for illegal immigrants, emboldening Senate opponents who thwarted attempts to debate the bill.
Senate leaders agreed Thursday to a list of amendments to be considered, clearing the way for debate to resume. The decision followed President Bush’s announcement that he supports a move to immediately set aside more than $4 billion to beef up enforcement of immigration laws.
The two actions significantly improve the chances that the Senate will pass the comprehensive bill, which would legalize many of the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
“We believe that there are enough votes,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said Thursday.
A senior Democratic aide said the Senate leaders agreed to specific amendments, with 11 for each side, but did not describe them.
One will certainly be the amendment drafted by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to guarantee that the federal government spends billions to improve security at the border and crack down on businesses that hire illegal workers. The measure is intended as an answer to conservatives who doubt the administration’s commitment to enforcement.
The president made his announcement two days after he visited Senate Republicans at their weekly policy lunch to urge them to pass the bill, his first such visit to the Capitol in nearly six years.
“I understand Americans are skeptical about immigration reform,” Bush said in a speech to a construction trade association Thursday, recalling the last time large-scale immigration legislation was passed in 1986.
“There’s a lot of people saying, ‘Well, there’s just no possible way that they can achieve important objectives. After all, they tried in ’86 and they failed.”‘
The president insisted that his administration was already doing better at catching illegal border-crossers but said he would support the Graham amendment as a way to ensure that there was adequate funding to do the job even better.
“Promises … will be kept”
“We’re going to show the American people that the promises in this bill will be kept,” Bush said.
Under the proposal, the U.S. Treasury would immediately set aside $4.4 billion to step up border security and workplace enforcement. The funds would be repaid from the fines collected over two years from illegal workers who go through the legalization process.
The president’s announcement appeared to sideline a move to put together a separate emergency-funding bill for the same purpose. Conservative opponents of the bill had asked for an emergency budget bill – similar to those used to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – to show the administration’s resolve.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a key opponent of the legislation, described Bush’s support as a “welcome development,” noting that he had proposed a similar plan as part of a defense spending bill last year.
“I do think it’s the right position, but it may be too late to revive this bill,” Cornyn said in a conference call with reporters. “Whether this is enough to satisfy members of the Senate, we’ll have to see.”
Snow suggested that the president and other backers of the bill wanted the funding to be a part of the immigration package, not a separate measure.
“All the pieces have to work together,” he said.
300 amendments offered
Reid pulled the bill from the floor last week in a dispute with Republicans over how many amendments he would permit to be debated and voted on. Opponents had offered more than 300 amendments, a common tactic designed to indefinitely prolong debate on a bill.
A bipartisan group of a dozen senators met for months with two Cabinet secretaries to craft the complex bill, defying deep opposition from within their own parties. Those same senators had met almost daily since the bill’s collapse to rescue it, saying the immigration crisis is too dire to abandon the bill.
Most political observers believe the approach of the 2008 elections means it could be years before the right climate exists again to tackle the extremely emotional issue.
Calling immigration “one of the most pressing national security issues facing our nation,” Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said Thursday in a statement: “Failure is not an option. And those who are using this opportunity to divide us instead of bringing real solutions to the table will be to blame if comprehensive immigration reform is not accomplished.”
