http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3958592.html

June 11, 2006, 1:59AM

DELEGATION WATCH
Cornyn not happy with Senate majority leader
Texan wanted a bill that required migrants to return home as prelude to seeking citizenship
By SAMANTHA LEVINE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Texas Republican John Cornyn is unhappy with Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader from Tennessee, and he makes no secret of his displeasure.

"We could do better," Cornyn said last week.

The Texan's criticism came after the Senate approved an immigration bill that includes provisions to allow most illegal immigrants to stay in the United States while seeking citizenship.

Cornyn considers this amnesty and favors requiring illegal immigrants to return home before they could apply for legal status.

Frist, who may seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, helped shepherd the bill through the Senate, and President Bush backs its general thrust.

On another matter that might cause him to be gloomy, Cornyn was surprisingly upbeat. Asked about his first and only communications director, Don Stewart, leaving next month to work for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Cornyn said he sees a silver lining.

McConnell, the Senate majority whip, is favored to become majority leader if the GOP retains control of the chamber in the November elections.

Having Stewart in the leader's office as communications director "is sort of like having a sleeper cell that you can call into action," Cornyn quipped.


Rep. Smith says laws aren't well-enforced
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, who wants to be the next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sees a gaping hole in the Bush administration's immigration reform and border security proposals.

"To really reduce illegal immigration, the administration needs to enforce current laws against hiring illegal immigrants," Smith said last week. "Unfortunately, the administration has shown little inclination to do so."

He added: "Close to 500 employers were sanctioned for hiring illegal immigrants during the last two years of the Clinton administration, compared with only 10 during the last two years of this administration."

Smith, who chairs the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on courts, the Internet and intellectual property, previously chaired the panel's immigration subcommittee.

His tough comments could be seen as a sign that he was trying to show his mettle to win a committee chairmanship. The GOP leadership picks the committee heads.

Smith denied that his comments are tailored to his quest. Rather, he said, he is speaking out on immigration issues because he has a long-standing interest in the topic.

House rules limit lawmakers to three terms, or six years, as chair of a committee. Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner's term will be up when the next session of Congress begins in January.


Rep. Edwards blames oversight for VA theft

The burglary at the home of a Veterans Affairs employee on May 3 that resulted in the theft of computer equipment that contained data on 2.2 million active-duty members of the military, and nearly 27 million veterans and their spouses, reflects major problems in how the VA is managed, said Chet Edwards, the ranking Democrat on the House spending subcommittee that focuses on veterans affairs and quality of life in the military.

"This was not the mistake of just one person," Edwards, of Waco, said. "This was a huge flaw in a system that allowed one person to take that much data home." Edwards is among several lawmakers calling on the independent congressional watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, to investigate.

This is the second recent debacle at the VA. Last year, the agency was taken to task for underestimating how many in the military would return wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan and seek medical treatment at VA facilities.

The flawed calculations resulted in an estimated $2.5 billion shortfall in the agency's budget for 2005 and 2006.

When it comes to this new error, "we don't need a partisan witch hunt at the VA," Edwards said. "We need to collect the facts, determine who is responsible, and hold that person accountable."

samantha.levine@chron.com