Frist orders border security first
WIth RINO Senator Arlen Spector and Donk Sen. Patrick Leahy and his other cohorts on the Judiciary Committee fiddle-f-rting around with an immigration act of some sort, eventually, they promise us – Bill Frist doesn’t have much faith in them.
Majority Leader Bill Frist, frustrated by the sluggish debate over immigration reform at the committee level, plans to introduce a bill that deals solely with border security as early as today.
Mr. Frist’s bill, according to aides on both sides of the aisle, does not include a guest-worker provision or a process for handling the 12 million illegal aliens already in the U.S., divisive topics that have stalled immigration legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
This is encouraging. Before we set up some sort of temp worker scheme, we need to get control of the borders.
The bill would beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, provide funding for thousands more Border Patrol agents and build short sections of fencing in key traffic areas.
Not enough, but it’s a start.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned RINO-Donk alliance is NOT happy with Sen. Frist’s plans to move on his own:
“The majority leader is wrong,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat. “It’s impossible to build a political consensus in that time. We need time. We need time to talk.” In a letter to Mr. Frist yesterday, Mrs. Feinstein and two other Judiciary Democrats pleaded for the majority leader to remain on the sidelines.
Feinstein is unhappy! That makes me thing Frist is on the right track.
“The Judiciary Committee has unique expertise on immigration law and, under the leadership of Chairman Specter, is working diligently to mark up a comprehensive immigration reform bill,” wrote Mrs. Feinstein and Sens. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. “The Senate would be well-served by the benefit of a complete committee markup, even if a brief extension of time is required to produce one.”
Better and better: not just Feinstein, but also Leahy and Kennedy! What’s left to say except “Go for it Frist!”!!
The biggest bone of contention is the guest slave worker scheme.
According to aides, Mr. Frist’s bill would simply take Mr. Specter’s proposal and strip out the guest-worker plan and provisions dealing with illegal aliens in the U.S.
Once on the Senate floor, Democrats and Republicans could add a guest-worker program if they all agreed on one of the several that have been proposed. But any such program would have to be reconciled with the bill approved in December by the House, where conservatives are adamant that the borders should be secured before any guest-worker bill is considered.
Hoo-rah for the House!
MAJOR understatement alert:
“Nobody in the country trusts us on this issue right now because we have not demonstrated the integrity to control our borders,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, during yesterday’s Judiciary meeting.
The Chief wonders when he got his first clue!