News
Jun 13 2007
Immigration Pitch Falls Short
WASHINGTON -- President Bush warned Tuesday that failure of a major immigration reform bill will make border enforcement harder, but it appeared his effort to revive the legislation fell flat for some.
"It was really anticlimactic," U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said after the president made a rare visit to Capitol Hill to meet and lunch with Republican senators.
Inhofe, an opponent of the bill that he views as amnesty to those illegal immigrants already here, expressed surprise that Bush did not offer to make any changes to the legislation that was pulled from the Senate floor last week after failing procedural votes.
"He came all the way over, and he had everybody with him," Inhofe said, ticking off the names of Vice President Dick Cheney, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and top White House aide Karl Rove.
"And, so I thought, boy, here it comes, full-court press, and it was the biggest nothing."
If Bush thought the show of strength would do the trick and persuade more Republican senators at least to vote to limit debate and move the bill to final passage, he cannot like Inhofe's assessment of the visit.
"I didn't see one vote in the room change," he said.
Instead, Inhofe, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and seven other Republican senators wrote Bush a letter asking the president to enforce the border security laws already on the books, even if Congress does not act on his reform package.
"The bill assumes that several critical border security benchmarks can be achieved within 18 months," they stated.
"Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy."
During his brief comments to the press following his closed-door visit with Republican senators, Bush said the American people need to be convinced the reform package is the best way to enforce the border.
"It's going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of effort," the president conceded, once again describing the issue as "highly emotional."
Bush also stressed that now is the time to act on such a comprehensive proposal and expressed hope that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., shares his sense of desire for such a bill.
Talking to reporters after Bush departed, Reid made it clear he believes Republicans must carry the burden for derailing their own president's bill.
He also appeared to be laying down markers for reviving the bill.
Reid said he wanted to see a list of proposed amendments, and he would want 25 Republican senators to agree to vote for limiting debate.
"We've done our job," he said, pointing out that a majority of Democrats voted for the procedural motions on the bill while a majority of Republicans voted against them.
When asked about Reid's conditions, Inhofe said he did not think 25 Republicans would vote to move the bill forward in its current form.
"I don't think without major changes that is remotely possible," he said.
"It was really anticlimactic," U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said after the president made a rare visit to Capitol Hill to meet and lunch with Republican senators.
Inhofe, an opponent of the bill that he views as amnesty to those illegal immigrants already here, expressed surprise that Bush did not offer to make any changes to the legislation that was pulled from the Senate floor last week after failing procedural votes.
"He came all the way over, and he had everybody with him," Inhofe said, ticking off the names of Vice President Dick Cheney, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and top White House aide Karl Rove.
"And, so I thought, boy, here it comes, full-court press, and it was the biggest nothing."
If Bush thought the show of strength would do the trick and persuade more Republican senators at least to vote to limit debate and move the bill to final passage, he cannot like Inhofe's assessment of the visit.
"I didn't see one vote in the room change," he said.
Instead, Inhofe, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and seven other Republican senators wrote Bush a letter asking the president to enforce the border security laws already on the books, even if Congress does not act on his reform package.
"The bill assumes that several critical border security benchmarks can be achieved within 18 months," they stated.
"Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy."
During his brief comments to the press following his closed-door visit with Republican senators, Bush said the American people need to be convinced the reform package is the best way to enforce the border.
"It's going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of effort," the president conceded, once again describing the issue as "highly emotional."
Bush also stressed that now is the time to act on such a comprehensive proposal and expressed hope that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., shares his sense of desire for such a bill.
Talking to reporters after Bush departed, Reid made it clear he believes Republicans must carry the burden for derailing their own president's bill.
He also appeared to be laying down markers for reviving the bill.
Reid said he wanted to see a list of proposed amendments, and he would want 25 Republican senators to agree to vote for limiting debate.
"We've done our job," he said, pointing out that a majority of Democrats voted for the procedural motions on the bill while a majority of Republicans voted against them.
When asked about Reid's conditions, Inhofe said he did not think 25 Republicans would vote to move the bill forward in its current form.
"I don't think without major changes that is remotely possible," he said.
