Republicans Insist on Amending Measure

WASHINGTON (By William Branigin, Washington Post) April 7, 2006 — A Senate compromise on a major overhaul of the nation's immigration laws hit a roadblock today, as the majority Republicans insisted on being allowed to amend the measure and balked at cutting off debate on it.

Most Senate Democrats had resisted efforts to amend the compromise bill, fearing that GOP opponents of provisions to legalize the status of millions of illegal immigrants would push through fundamental changes.

The Senate voted 60 to 38 this morning against invoking cloture on the compromise measure, effectively stalling it instead of sending it to the floor as is for a vote. Supporters of the bill fell far short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate and move it to the floor. Republicans stuck together in defeating the cloture motion and were joined by six Democrats.

The setback came a day after a bipartisan group of senators announced a "breakthrough" on contentious immigration legislation, stemming from a compromise put forward by Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Mel Martinez of Florida. Their measure created a tiered approach to the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, dividing them into three categories: long-term, mid-term and short-term. Those who had lived in the United States at least five years would be offered legal status; those here less than five years but more than two would be eligible for a temporary worker program and those here less than two years would have to return home to apply for temporary work visas.

The bill was offered as a compromise between Republican proposals to crack down on illegal border-crossings and a bill crafted by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would have offered amnesty to practically all 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.

After the vote on the compromise bill, an alternative introduced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was also shelved, as senators voted 62 to 36 against cloture on his measure. Frist's bill, aimed at tightening border security, did not include provisions allowing illegal immigrants to stay and called for heavy fines on employers who hired them.

Kennedy and McCain expressed disappointment today that the compromise appeared to have fallen apart.

"All of us understand that this is a complex, difficult issue," Kennedy said in a joint news briefing with McCain. "There's always the opportunity to try and sidetrack a purposeful, meaningful, comprehensive approach."

Kennedy added: "I'm concerned about the lost opportunity, but absolutely determined to keep on fighting. . . . We don't intend to give up, and we don't intend to give in."

Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the impasse. Some GOP senators insisted that they be able to offer amendments, while Democrats led by Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) argued that the core of the fragile compromise would be gutted by changes.

The White House today zeroed in on Reid.

"Unfortunately, the Senate minority leader prevented voices from being heard and amendments from being considered," presidential spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters, reading from a prepared statement. "He is preventing comprehensive immigration reform from moving forward. We call on the Senate minority leader to stop blocking this process from moving forward so that we can get comprehensive immigration reform passed."

Reid charged that Republican opponents of the compromise had been planning to "kill it by amendment." He said that "the amendments were being offered by people who didn't want the bill."

Frist told reporters after the cloture votes that the Democratic leadership had created a "huge problem" by refusing to countenance all but three of the more than 400 amendments that had been filed on the compromise bill. He said this was "a travesty, because that ultimately brought down very good policy."

Although the Senate will now adjourn for two weeks, Frist said, "we have a very good, solid proposal on the table" that can be taken up after the break. He said the measure "does deserve debate and some amendment to it."

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), who had come out against the Hagel-Martinez compromise, said on the Senate floor that negotiations among Republicans last night "got down to allowing 20 amendments." But she said Democrats refused to go along.

"I think we've missed an opportunity," Hutchison said. "I hope very much that as we go home for our two-week break that we will think about how we can come together, come back here and not give up on having an immigration reform bill" that secures U.S. borders and creates a guest-worker program. "I hope that the minority will work with the majority not to block future amendments that would make this a better bill."

Earlier today, President Bush had urged lawmakers to keeping working toward an agreement.

"An immigration system that forces people into the shadows of our society, or leaves them prey to criminals, is a system that needs to be changed," Bush said this morning at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington. "I'm confident that we can . . . change our immigration system in ways that secures our border, respects the rule of law, and, as importantly, upholds the decency of our country. As the Congress continues this debate, its members must remember we are a nation of immigrants. And immigration has helped restore our soul on a regular basis."

Bush has promoted a guest-worker program as a way to legalize the status of many illegal immigrants, but his approach has run into stiff opposition in the House, which has passed a bill that cracks down on the undocumented population and does not include a guest-worker provision.

The Republican-crafted House bill, which would criminalize illegal immigrants and punish those who assist them, has sparked large protest demonstrations in major cities across the nation, notably Los Angeles.

Even if the Senate compromise had succeeded, it would have faced a major hurdle in efforts to reconcile it with the House bill.