Thread: House G.O.P. Planning Recess Hearings

House G.O.P. Planning Recess Hearings
By RACHEL L. SWARNS

WASHINGTON, July 27 — Moving to bolster support for their border security bill, House Republican leaders said Thursday that they planned to hold 21 immigration hearings during their August recess before sitting down with the Senate to work on compromise legislation.
House Republicans said they still hoped to finalize immigration legislation this year and pointed to a bill introduced this week by two Republican lawmakers as a possible framework for a compromise. The bill, introduced by Representative Mike Pence of Indiana and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, would require the president to certify that the border was secure before allowing a temporary guest worker plan to be carried out.
“Before we can look at other immigration issues, we must first secure the borders,” Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois, said at a news conference. “I’m not endorsing any one plan, but that does start to look at a pathway, that type of a solution, possibly to get this job done.”
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House majority leader, said the hearings, which will take place in 13 states, would expose what he described as “troubling provisions” in the Senate’s immigration bill, which would tighten border security and put most illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. He said House Republicans, who passed legislation that focuses solely on border security, would concentrate on border fencing and involving the local police in the enforcement of immigration laws.
“I believe that these hearings will help us produce a more responsible solution that the American people support,” Mr. Boehner said.
Democrats quickly derided the hearings, describing them as an effort to delay negotiations with the Senate and to stir the passions of conservative voters before the Congressional elections in November.
“These are campaign events driven by the right wing of the Republican Party, not true hearings,” said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and an architect of the Senate immigration bill. “Immigration is a serious issue and Americans wish that Republicans would stop playing politics with it and stop stalling real reform.”
Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the House hearings would do little to move the legislation forward. “I don’t think that the hearings are going to have any significant impact on any Congressional action,” said Mr. Specter, a key proponent of the Senate legislation. “I think that we all pretty well know what the bills say.”
Congressional aides said lawmakers in the House and Senate were continuing to hold private meetings in an effort to reach a consensus. Meanwhile, President Bush has continued to prod lawmakers to find some common ground.
Mr. Bush emphasized this week that tough border security and a mechanism to legalize illegal immigrants were both critical components of immigration legislation. “All elements of the problem must be addressed together, or none of them will be solved at all,” Mr. Bush said Monday.
Mr. Pence, the leader of the conservative caucus in the House, describes his legislation as “a rational middle ground.” The legislation modifies a proposal he made in May, which would have allowed illegal immigrants to become legal temporary workers, though they would not have been allowed to become permanent residents or citizens.
Under the new plan, officials would be required to focus on securing the border for two years. A temporary worker program would be carried out only after the president had certified that those efforts had been successful.
The temporary worker program would be limited to immigrants from Mexico, Canada and countries in Central America that have trade deals with the United States. Participants would be required to return to their countries and apply for a two-year visa that could be renewed for up to 12 years. After 12 years, immigrants would be eligible for permanent residency. After 17 years, they would be eligible for citizenship.
Matt Lloyd, a spokesman for Mr. Pence, said that Mr. Pence had sent a package outlining his proposal to House members this week and had discussed the plan with several lawmakers. Mr. Kennedy, who has met with Mr. Pence in recent weeks, described the proposal as a positive development.
“While I don’t agree with Pence’s plan, I do agree with his commitment to immigration reform and admire his willingness to break with those in his party who would rather just play politics with immigration,” Mr. Kennedy said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/28/washi ... ref=slogin

Do our politicians have ears? Ears to hear us?

they ONLY hear the Illegal Aliens