Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Congress cannot avoid immigration measure

While Washington was busy this week with the polarizing issues of gay marriage and the estate tax - which failed to gain Senate support but laid groundwork for the November elections - immigration reform has been wallowing on the sidelines.

Even though Americans have put that reform among their top priorities, Congress has not been able to make progress on merging the two radically different bills into one proposal for President Bush to consider.

A technical problem with the Senate bill has led to a roadblock preventing it from being sent to the House for the start of negotiations. That poses a problem as the clock ticks down on the congressional calendar.

The House bill calls for border security and new penalties for illegal immigrants and those who help them. The Senate bill includes broad guest worker programs and offers a path to citizenship, both programs Bush favors.

Plenty of conservative Republicans are thrilled with the delay of the Senate bill. They dislike citizenship provisions, which they call amnesty for illegal immigrants.

"We've done our job," said Will Adams, a spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who supports the House bill. "Delaying a Senate amnesty bill is nothing but good news. Then the onus is on the Senate to get its act together. Do they want to face voters in November having passed no bill? Do they want to face voters in November having passed an amnesty bill? Both are bad options."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., along with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., both said on the floor this week they were working toward a resolution.

"We're trying to work this out," Reid said. "I know that a lot of people think that we spend a lot of time on minutiae. All this procedural stuff. But that's the way it is. And people are going to have to be patient."

At issue are Senate provisions that raise revenues, such as one that would require illegal immigrants pay back taxes and fines before they can begin the road to citizenship. Under the Constitution, any legislation that generates revenues needs to originate in the House, not the Senate.

Frist suggested moving the Senate bill to an existing House tax bill, which Reid said he would support - if he could get a guarantee the House would refrain from piling on new taxes that would doom the bill. Reid's office said he has not received that guarantee.

Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, an organization that supports the Senate bill, said the rift points to the deep divisions among Republicans. But she believes the two sides will get over this first hurdle because voters will expect as much come Election Day this November.

"Neither one wants to be the one left holding this hot pot - you're the one who stopped it," she said. "I don't think this is going to blow up the bill. This is just some potholes in the road. It could still go over the cliff, but not for this reason."

Just weeks after the Defense Department delays in its test explosion at the Nevada Test Site led some Nevada officials to conclude that the blast would never take place, federal officials have taken a step that suggests it might go forward.

That step consists of a Justice Department motion filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada last week. The motion argues that a lawsuit filed by opponents of the blast should be put on hold because the test has been postponed.

Maureen A. Hunemuller, acting manger of the National Nuclear Safety Administration's Nevada Site Office, said in court documents that federal agencies are reviewing the environmental concerns raised by the lawsuit. The government will fully address environmental concerns before the test would be rescheduled, the court documents said.

In effect, the motion seeks to relieve the government of defending itself against the lawsuit by arguing that the environmental issues the suit raises would be addressed.

Government officials did not return calls for comment.

An attorney representing residents and down-winders, who are concerned that the 700-ton blast will kick up nuclear-contaminated soil from the former nuclear test site, vowed to continue pressing the Defense Department.

"They are certainly trying to keep the door open," said attorney Treva Hearne, who represents the Winnemucca Indian Colony and other area residents. "They could at any minute come back It's this constant hide-the-eight-ball. The government doesn't want to tell us what it's going to do."

The Defense Department had been planning to set off the powerful explosion this month. But the government backed off late last month in the face of opposition.

Former Republican Senate candidate Bruce James, appointed by Bush four years ago to head the Government Printing Office, says he might run for Reid's seat in 2010. James is giving up his post and returning to Nevada later this year.

James, who became a millionaire as a printer in the private sector before moving on to Washington, said Reid's actions as Senate Democratic leader and as a top spokesman for the party have caused him to lose touch with his constituents - much the same as happened to former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Daschle's re-election defeat in 2004 opened the door for Reid's election to the leadership post.

"I'll continue to look at it," James said of his possible candidacy. "That's the next potential opportunity that's likely to come along."

James had made a brief run for the Senate in 1998, but dropped out before the primary. He has praise for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who had been his primary opponent that year before going on to win the seat.

Reid's office dismissed the criticism.

"Sen. Reid is continuing to focus on his work for the people of Nevada. Nevada is, and always will be, his top priority," a spokeswoman said.

James told Bush earlier this year he was ready to move on, after working to transform the printing office for the Internet age. Once back in Nevada, he said, he plans to focus his efforts on higher education as a director of the Associated Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities.

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