Thread: NumbersUSA: Introduction of SAVE Act Discharge Petition

Introduction of SAVE Act Discharge Petition Expected

(March 11) The Washington Times is reporting that House Republican leaders will endorse a discharge petition this afternoon for the enforcement-only SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement; H.R. 408.

If the petition collects 218 House signatures, a simple majority, the bill can bypass the committee process and be placed on the House floor for a vote, regardless of any objections by Democratic leaders. That bill -- with 151 bi-partisan signers in the House and Senate -- would drive millions of illegal aliens out of their jobs by requiring mandatory employment eligibility verification.

The Washington Times is also reporting that Democrats are still working on alternative plans for the immigration debate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been pushing a plan to grant legal work permits for millions of illegal aliens currently holding jobs and huge increases in H-2B and H-1B visas for all types of foreign workers.


http://www.numbersusa.com/index

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been pushing a plan to grant legal work permits for millions of illegal aliens currently holding jobs and huge increases in H-2B and H-1B visas for all types of foreign workers.

I support SAVE and hope the GOP pulls this off, but we DON'T want Pelosi's "work permit" amnesty scheme for millions of IAs surfacing and floating around.

Thanks, PhredE! Please keep us posted!

Washington Times
Article published Mar 11, 2008
GOP aims to force immigration debate

By Stephen Dinan - House Republican leaders will introduce a petition drive today to force Democrats to debate immigration this year, using a Democrat-sponsored bill to box them into taking a stand on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Republican leaders reached the decision yesterday evening to initiate a "discharge petition," a parliamentary move minority parties can use to force issues onto the House floor over objections of the majority. The last successful use was on campaign finance in 2002.

But Republicans' move also puts Sen. John McCain, their party's presumed presidential nominee, in a tough spot. He has consistently opposed enhanced security efforts that weren't also tied to granting citizenship rights to illegal immigrants, and the effort could highlight a deep rift among Republicans.

Republicans are using a bill sponsored by a conservative Democrat, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, to try to force the issue. The bill would boost the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents and require businesses to check employees' Social Security numbers against a federal database, known as E-Verify. The system is currently voluntary.

"The Shuler discharge petition will be filed tomorrow," a House Republican leadership aide said after the leaders met yesterday. Another aide said the petition will be sponsored by an unspecified Republican in a swing district, to provide a November boost.

Republicans must collect 218 signatures, or a majority of House members, to force the bill onto the floor over the objection of Democratic leaders.

Mr. McCain said he "gets it" that voters want security enhanced before they will accept his plan for a legalization program that would grant citizenship rights to millions of illegal immigrants. But he has yet to take a stand on any specific proposals, and his campaign has gone silent on the immigration issue in recent weeks. He also voted in the 1990s against creating the Basic Pilot Program, the system that has morphed into E-Verify.

A campaign spokesman didn't return repeated messages left over the past five days regarding the discharge petition. But a spokeswoman for House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, said the move is not a surprise to Mr. McCain.

"At this stage of the game where we have our Republican nominee, we do have conversations with their campaign to make sure we understand what each other is doing," spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier said. "I can confirm there was a brief conversation just on the subject of immigration."

One House aide who has tracked the issue said the McCain campaign told Republicans, "We understand why you're doing it. We don't necessarily like it, but it gives us no heartburn."

Rank-and-file Republicans for months have begged their leadership to take the step.

"I'm committed to doing what it takes to secure the borders. I think the only way to get the leadership's attention is to force the petition," said Rep. Tom Feeney, Florida Republican. Rep. Brian P. Bilbray, California Republican, called the Shuler bill the best bipartisan option and a "chance to get something done this year" on immigration.

Republican leaders resisted the petition for months, fearing it could offer political cover to conservative Democrats who signed it, but now see a discharge petition as a way to force those Democrats to take a stand on the bill.

Republican aides said they expect all but a dozen or so of their members to sign the petition, and expect a half-dozen Democrats to sign as well. The Shuler bill itself has 141 co-sponsors, including 48 Democrats. Mr. Shuler has said he would sign the discharge petition, though he still would prefer to have his own party leaders introduce the bill through the regular process.

Democrats are struggling to devise their own plans to have an immigration debate and to counter the discharge petition. Hispanic Caucus members want a bill that includes at least temporary legal status for illegal immigrants, while a bipartisan group wants to expand use of temporary foreign workers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/ ... 002/NATION

Mr. McCain said he "gets it" that voters want security enhanced before they will accept his plan for a legalization program that would grant citizenship rights to millions of illegal immigrants. But he has yet to take a stand on any specific proposals, and his campaign has gone silent on the immigration issue in recent weeks. He also voted in the 1990s against creating the Basic Pilot Program, the system that has morphed into E-Verify.

No, he doesn't get it. We want our borders secured and NO amnesty...ever again!

Thanks Phrede!

Please join in on the Indiana action alert everyone! We need another WIN!



http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-107482.html

Related story:

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
March 11, 2008 – 1:08 p.m.
House Republicans Seek to Force Floor Vote on Immigration Enforcement Bill

House Republicans planned to begin collecting signatures Tuesday on a petition to force a floor vote on a tough immigration enforcement bill sponsored by a conservative Democrat.

Minority Whip Roy Blunt , R-Mo., said he expects about 100 Republicans to sign the petition by Rep. Thelma Drake , R-Va., which seeks to bring to the House floor border enforcement legislation introduced by Rep. Heath Shuler , D-N.C.

Shuler’s bill has 141 cosponsors — 93 Republicans and 48 Democrats. But it is not clear how many Democrats will sign the discharge petition. The petition represents a direct challenge to their party’s leaders, who have not embraced Shuler’s bill.

Asked if enough members can be rounded up to get the needed 218 signatures to force the bill to the floor, Blunt said the focus will be on the Democrats who have orally supported the legislation.

“We can get to 218 if the 49 or 50 Democrats who say they are for border enforcement really are for border enforcement. We think it’s a bill that could pass and move us in the right direction,’’ he said.

Shuler’s bill would authorize the hiring of 8,000 additional border agents over five years. It would replace the current voluntary system for employers to check the legal status of their workers with a mandatory verification system and would deny tax deductions for the employment of illegal immigrants, among other provisions.

Although discharge petitions rarely succeed, unusual political alliances and election-year pressures over immigration make the outcome unpredictable.

Until recently, the conventional wisdom had been that immigration legislation would be a non-starter in this presidential election year. But an electorate seemingly exasperated with illegal immigration has yielded a flurry of get-tough proposals from conservatives in both parties.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?p ... 0002685542

I'm crossing my fingers!

Originally Posted by PhredE

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been pushing a plan to grant legal work permits for millions of illegal aliens currently holding jobs

I think everyone needs to call up Pelosi and point out her plan discriminates against non-Latinos at a rate of 30 to 1, it is racist, and she is a bigot for supporting it (http://www.legalimmigrantsfirst.org/opeds.html) This is our best weapon against these far left libs, they mostly ignore the other arguments.

Originally Posted by alexcastro

I'm crossing my fingers!

ME TOO!