Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Key Criteria For Ensign on the Immigration Bill [Jim Geraghty]
Very few senators are willing to come out and say, "If I don't get this amendment or provision, I'm voting against cloture."
Still, when a lawmaker says, "this is my make-or-break issue, and without it, I don't think this legislation is worthwhile" and that provision fails to pass, it does seem hard to explain how a senator could vote for the bill, or for cloture. And as we all know, a vote for cloture amounts to a vote for passage; nobody's fooled by the "I voted for cloture but against the bill" kabuki anymore.
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has two big amendments/criteria, according to his office. The first is an amendment to close a loophole for Social Security benefits; as the bill is written now, it allows immigrants to collect Social Security if they've committed identity theft or fraud. Ensign contends the bill as it stands encourages identity theft and fraud. The second is another amendment, part of interior enforcement package, is to create an "exit tracking system." Forty percent of illegal immigrants arrive here legally and overstay their visas. Ensign wants to have an exit tracking system to know who's here, who's left.
06/27 11:02 AM
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