GOP Seeks Rapid Results on Immigration Bill
NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, May 11, 2006

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WASHINGTON -- Republicans moved Wednesday to have the Senate spend most of the next two weeks reconsidering an immigration bill that faltered just before Easter over whether to let millions of illegal immigrants remain in the United States.


"We're ready to start the process," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday after emerging from a meeting with a few other Republicans in Majority Leader Bill Frist's office.


Frist, R-Tenn., said he would continue talks with Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. He added, however, that debate would begin early next week on amendments even though he and Reid have no agreement on how to proceed with the bill.

The House in December passed an enforcement-only immigration bill with no provision for legalizing illegal immigrants. Senate Democrats have expressed fears that protections for illegal immigrants will be sacrificed in the negotiations.


Reid has insisted that once the bill is passed, those who support protecting illegal immigrants from deportation must control the Senate team that will negotiate with the House in conference in developing a final bill.


"Unless there is agreement on conference, the bill will go nowhere. Nowhere," Reid said Wednesday.


Frist and Reid have said for weeks they are negotiating to renew debate on the bill, but there has been little progress even after three Roman Catholic bishops visited both leaders.




"I think there's a general consensus on our side not to try to kill the bill, but to try to see us get a result," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who participated in the meeting with Frist.