http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/200 ... /803260330

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler says he believes Republican presidential candidate John McCain blocked his immigration bill from getting a vote on the U.S. House floor. McCain's staff denies it.

The Waynesville Democrat spoke to the Rotary Club of Hendersonville on Tuesday. He said the Republican leadership tried to bring the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act to the House floor. They used a provision of House rules called a discharge petition, in which a simple majority can bring to the floor a bill that is stuck in committee.

The petition had 181 of the 217 signatures needed to force a vote on the bill.

"It was going great until McCain blocked it," Shuler said.

McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, called Republicans in Congress and asked them not to sign the petition, Shuler said. He said after McCain's intervention, Republicans in the House were less willing to sign onto the bill.

"We've really slowed down in the last week in Washington," Shuler said.

A spokesman for McCain denied any involvement, saying the senator has neither taken a position on the SAVE Act nor tried to block anyone from signing it.

SAVE Act

The SAVE Act is in a strange position. Republicans want to force a vote on the bill, trying to show they are tough on immigration. The bill increases border security and requires employers to verify the residency status of new employees.

Shuler said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership were not pleased with his attempts to get the bill to the House floor.

"They said (the bill) was not the proper thing for our caucus," Shuler said.

But he said the SAVE Act is "not about Democrats. Not about Republicans. It's about what is best for America."

Shuler said he went to Washington to solve problems and was not willing to go along with the leadership in his party.

"You can't be scared in Washington," Shuler said. "You have to do what is right."

Shuler said he understands party leadership and that the party system has a role. But he said partisanship and the struggle for power get in the way of solving problems.

"We need to move forward as a country," Shuler said. "Not as Democrats, not as Republicans."

Finding unity

Shuler said he is not excited about any of the three presidential candidates left in the race -- McCain, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. He said fringe elements of both parties have too much influence on the process.

"When I look at the presidential candidates, I don't think any of the three gives me a sense that we can come together," Shuler said.

He cited President John F. Kennedy as an example of a leader who unified the country. He said Kennedy had a vision and brought the country together to put a person on the moon. Shuler said the country was unified after the 9/11 attack, but seems to be more divided now.

"We seem to have lost a little," Shuler said.

Spence Campbell, a Rotary Club member and a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 11th district, said the talk was a good way for people in the club to understand the congressman. Campbell, former chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party, said he was respectful of Shuler as a candidate and did not want to quibble over points he made during the talk.

"Given the opportunity, I would have a lot of questions about what he said," Campbell said.