Sunday, May 28, 2006

2007 Intelligence Authorization Act - Senate Intelligence Committee

S.3237

An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2007 for the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Intelligence Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes


This bill is working its way through the Committee apparatus, and is apt to emerge for debate at some point in the future. A bit of a leading indicator here, as to the issues that this bill will raise for debate were raised and voted on in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The entire report linked below is a good read. For the purposes of gaining insight into the politics involved, this post contains only a summary of the amendments and voting thereon.

Hat tip to The Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy for the story and for hosting a copy of the Senate report.


Senate Report 109-259, May 25, 2006
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2006_rpt/srpt109-259.pdf

Amendments to committee bill

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 9 ayes and 6 noes, the Committee agreed to an amendment by Senator Feinstein to modify certain requirements for notifications to Congress under Sections 502 and 503 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 413a & 413b) and to place an additional limitation on the availability of funds for intelligence and intelligence-related activities under Section 504 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 414). See Sections 304 and 307 of the Act. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - aye; Senator Hagel - aye; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - aye; Senator Feingold - aye.

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 9 ayes and 6 noes, the Committee agreed to an amendment by Senator Levin to require a report by the DNI on compliance by the Intelligence Community with the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-148, Div. A, Title X (Dec. 30, 2005)). See Section 313 of the Act. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - aye; Senator Hagel - aye; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - aye; Senator Feingold - aye.

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 9 ayes and 6 noes, the Committee agreed to an amendment by Senator Wyden to increase the penalties applicable to certain violations of Section 601 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 421), relating to the unauthorized disclosure of the identity of a covert agent. See Section 308 of the Act. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - aye; Senator Hagel - aye; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - aye; Senator Feingold - aye.

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 8 ayes and 7 noes, the Committee agreed to an amendment by Senator Levin (for himself and Senator Hagel) that would require certain officials to provide to Congress requested intelligence documents and information within 15 days, unless the President refuses to provide the documents or information based on an assertion of a privilege pursuant to the Constitution. See Section 108 of the Act. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - no; Senator Hagel - aye; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - aye; Senator Feingold - aye.

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 9 ayes and 6 noes, the Committee agreed to an amendment by Senator Levin to require the DNI to submit a classified, detailed report to the Members of the intelligence committees concerning each clandestine prison or detention facility, if any, currently or formerly operated by the United States Government, regardless of location, at which detainees in the global war on terrorism are or have been held. See Section 314 of the Act. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - aye; Senator Hagel - aye; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - aye; Senator Feingold - aye.

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 9 ayes and 6 noes, the Committee agreed to an amendment by Senator Wyden to mandate the public disclosure of the aggregate amount of funding requested, authorized, and appropriated for the National Intelligence Program for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2007. See Section 107 of the Act. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - aye; Senator Hagel - aye; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - aye; Senator Feingold - aye.

On May 23, 2006, by a vote of 7 ayes and 8 noes, the Committee rejected an amendment by Senator Feingold to require a report on past intelligence activities not previously notified to all Members serving on the intelligence committees at the time the activities were undertaken. The votes in person or by proxy were as follows: Chairman Roberts - no; Senator Hatch - no; Senator DeWine - no; Senator Bond - no; Senator Lott - no; Senator Snowe - aye; Senator Hagel - no; Senator Chambliss - no; Vice Chairman Rockefeller - aye; Senator Levin - aye; Senator Feinstein - aye; Senator Wyden - aye; Senator Bayh - aye; Senator Mikulski - no; Senator Feingold - aye.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Senate Live - May 26, 2006

  • 08:45 convene the Senate
  • Vote on the Kavanaugh nomination
  • Vote on the Hayden nomination
  • Permit Senator Nelson to speak
  • Cloture vote on the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne
  • Permit Senator Landrieu to speak for 10 minutes
  • Vote on the Kempthorne nomination (assuming cloture was invoked)
  • Get out of town for the Memorial Day recess

Predictions: All pass. Kavanaugh on nearly party line (58-39), Hayden on a wider margin (75-23), and Kempthorne unanimously.

UPDATE @ 09:50

The nomination of Kavanaugh for a seat on the DC Circuit Court was
PASSED on a 57 - 36 vote
DEM Aye votes: Byrd, Carper, Landrieu and Nelson (NE)

The nomination of Hayden to be the head of the CIA was
PASSED on a 78 - 15 vote
Nay votes: Bayh, Cantwell, Clinton, Dayton, Dodd, Dorgan, Dodd, Feingold, Harkin, Kennedy, Kerry, Menendez, Obama, Specter and Wyden

UPDATE @ 10:10

Cloture on the nomination of Kempthorne for Secretary of the Interior was
PASSED on a 85 -08 vote
Objectors: Biden, Clinton, Dayton, Harkin, Kerry, Mikulski,Nelson (FL), and Schumer

The nomination of Kempthorne for Secretary of the Interior was
PASSED on a voice vote

UPDATE @ 10:25

Senator Landrieu begged for more money.
Senator Stevens urged the Senate to open ANWR for mineral exploration and extraction.

UPDATE @ 10:40

Senator Specter explains that his vote against Hayden was a protest against the administration for not being forthcoming with Congress re: NSA programs, particularly, for not informing enough members of Congress. He also outlined the steps that he proposes be taken henceforth.

UPDATE @ 10:55

Senator Specter introduces an amended version of the asbestos bill.

Senator Byrd will talk on the occasion of what would have been his 69th wedding anniversary.

Some immigration reading ...

CIRA=Corruption, Ignorance, Recklessness, Arrogance [John Derbyshire]
'Anchors' away - Mona Charen

A little bit about the Senate and NSA ...

Senate Bill Would Require Intelligence Budget Disclosure

Public disclosure of intelligence budget data would be required under a provision of the 2007 Intelligence Authorization Act that was reported (pdf) by the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday and disclosed today. ...

The budget disclosure provision was proposed by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and approved yesterday by the Senate Intelligence Committee on a 9-6 vote. All Democrats on the Committee supported the move, as did Republican Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska). Other Republicans, including Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), opposed it.

And a little bit on judicial confirmations ...

Frist: One and Done on Judicial Nominees?

But after Kavanaugh, who is next?

That's the question conservatives want Frist to answer. But during yesterday's call, they got no satisfaction. Frist ducked a question about stalled nominees Terence Boyle and William Haynes, saying he was still waiting for advice from Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) on how to proceed.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Senator Talent on S.2611

Senator Talent delivered the following, in the evening of May 24, 2006. In my opinion, it was one of the best speeches given from the floor of the Senate, on the subject of the McCain/Kennedy - Hagel/Martinez immigration bill.


Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I rise to speak against the bill. I want to begin by saying that America has a proud history of immigration. When we say that America is a nation of immigrants, we mean that deep in our national consciousness is the image of America as a haven and a place of opportunity for people from all over the world.

Our policies have reflected that image. America has always had more open immigration policies than any other country. But those policies have been the result of choices the American people have made.

We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. Like all sovereign nations, America has the right to determine who may enter our country and who may not. The American people have chosen to strike a legal balance between their desire to provide opportunities to new residents of diverse backgrounds and the economic reality that too much immigration too fast will depress the wages and diminish the hopes of millions of our own citizens.

I say with the utmost respect that the bill before us completely abandons that traditional balance. It provides an amnesty to those who, however understandable their motives, have chosen to trespass on our hospitality and violate our laws and does so under conditions that history has shown will increase rather than decrease illegal immigration in the future. It allows a vast new immigration for decades to come, with no regard whatsoever for the impact on the lives and hopes of our own citizens who have the first claim to the American dream, and it does little or nothing to repair the existing system of legal immigration which regularly confounds the expectations of millions around the world who claim a legal right to enter the United States.

Moreover, the Senate has regrettably and inexplicably rejected commonsense amendments which were designed to restore the balance Americans want and have the right to expect. For those reasons, I could not support voting to end debate on the bill, and I will not now support its final passage.

I should say at the outset that I do support the border security provisions in the bill. Border security is a national security issue rather than an immigration issue. For that reason, I recently sponsored bipartisan legislation, the Border Security and Modernization Act, in order to help secure America's border with additional manpower, new barriers, and high-tech surveillance equipment.

The bill I cosponsored authorizes new funds for technology to assist our Border Patrol, to construct roads, fences, and barriers along the border and to purchase air assets such as helicopters. In addition, the Border Security and Modernization Act will increase resources for border detention centers and enact stricter criminal penalties for human smuggling, falsifying work entry documents, and drug trafficking.

The immigration bill before the Senate contains many provisions similar to those in the bill which I cosponsored, and I am pleased the Senate approved an amendment which I also cosponsored to strengthen those provisions providing for the construction of at least 370 miles of triple-layered fence and 500 miles of vehicle barriers at strategic locations along the southwest border. But the good done in the immigration bill by these provisions could largely be accomplished by the President without new statutory authorization and is, in any case, far outweighed by the negatives in the bill.

I oppose the bill first because it grants a broad-based amnesty--the right to legal residence and even citizenship--to 10 to 12 million people who violated our laws. Permanent residence in the United States, not to mention American citizenship, is a valuable and important privilege.

Granting these privileges under these circumstances rewards and therefore encourages unlawful immigration. It demoralizes and punishes the millions of people around the world who have respected our rules and who are trying patiently to immigrate legally into the United States, and it makes a mockery of the policy that is supposed to form our immigration laws--the desire to balance our need for workers and vision of America as a place of opportunity against the importance of protecting jobs and wages at home.

If Congress grants an amnesty under these circumstances, what will be the argument against granting another amnesty 5, 10, or 20 years from now if millions more people, in response to the incentives created by this bill, manage to enter the United States illegally?

To those who say this will not happen, I say that it has already happened. Congress granted an amnesty 20 years ago for largely the same reasons under the same conditions and with the same assurances being offered in support of this bill before us today. Far from preventing illegal immigration, that amnesty has magnified the problem by four- or fivefold. What reason do we have to believe the same thing will not happen if we pass this bill, especially since the amnesty procedure in this bill is certain and takes effect immediately, while the border security provisions may not work at all and will, in any event, take years to implement? I suspect the pressure on our borders is increasing even now simply because the Senate is seriously debating an amnesty.

I also oppose the bill because it authorizes a vast and unvalidated increase in immigration. The bill allows 70 to 90 million immigrants to enter the country over the next 20 years--not, by and large, scientists, doctors, or engineers, but people who will compete directly against Americans for jobs in the hospitality industry or for craft work in construction or manufacturing.

I begrudge no one the desire to come to the United States to make a better life for themselves. My grandparents did that, and so did my wife's mother. I certainly hope the economy will grow fast enough that we will need additional workers, but our first responsibility is to our own people. We cannot sustain the American dream if we do not provide opportunity for all Americans, including those who do not or cannot go to college. I can think of nothing more likely to cause conflict and division, and raise the ugly specter of ethnic prejudice than making millions of Americans compete against foreign workers, sometimes in economic recessions, for the jobs their families need to make ends meet.

Congress should be willing to increase legal immigration where our employers have proven needs that our own workers cannot meet. I believe such shortage exists today in certain parts of the economy, such as agriculture, and I would be willing to consider increases in the current limits in those areas. But that decision should be made on the basis of evidence, not speculation, and Congress should make it carefully and for short periods of time rather than guessing what the labor situation will be 10 or 20 years from now.

These decisions we are considering today matter. They affect the lives of millions of our people who rightly expect that we will look out for their interests, not make them feel guilty about their legitimate concerns for themselves and their loved ones.

Moreover, the legal immigration provisions in the bill will cost our taxpayers $54 billion over the next 10 years. That fact is not disputed, even by the sponsors of the bill. Because of the deficit, our health care programs are under pressure. Congress is begrudging disaster relief to our farmers. The Nation's transportation infrastructure is underfunded, and some are proposing to reduce the defense budget or increase taxes. I simply cannot understand why, at a time like this, Congress would undertake an additional budgetary commitment of this magnitude to foreign workers our economy may not even need.

Finally, I oppose the bill because it does very little to fix the current legal immigration system. The great irony of this whole debate is that it has focused largely on the wrong problem. If we want to help the economy and provide justice to immigrants, we should concentrate first on making our current programs at least minimally workable.

As Senators are probably aware, there are significant backlogs in our current system due to the sheer volume of aliens eligible to legally immigrate to the United States. As of December 31, 2003, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, that is the USCIS, reported 5.3 million immigrant petitions pending. USCIS decreased the number of immigrant petitions by 24 percent by the end of fiscal year 2004--that is a pretty good job--but they still had 4.1 million petitions pending. Every new applicant who is not an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen must go to the end of lines that vary in length according to country, the prospective immigrant's relationship to their American sponsor, and profession.

According to the State Department, experienced laborers from India face a 5-year wait for a visa, while Filipino siblings of Americans wait more than 22 years.

In my office, we live with this problem with the current immigration system every day. I have five caseworkers who spend parts of each day in response to constituent requests, assisting those who actually claim a legal right to enter our country. These prospective immigrants have respected our laws. They and their Missouri sponsors spend large amounts of time and money trying to navigate the existing system. We have almost 200 pending cases in our office alone.

They include Missourians who want to adopt children from abroad, foreign doctors who want to work in rural areas where they are desperately needed, and world renowned researchers who want to bring their knowledge to the United States. These people have a right to immigrate under the current laws. Yet the bill does nothing for them. In fact, the bill makes their situation worse because it puts them at the back of the line. The bill inevitably means that the time and attention of the Immigration Service will be spent processing the applications of undocumented workers and administering a vague new guest worker program for 70 million to 90 million people, rather than on the cases of legal immigrants which, in some cases, have been pending for years.

What I have just said is the answer to those who claim this bill is necessary because it is the only practical solution to our current situation. Mr. President, anybody even marginally familiar with our current legal immigration system knows that it is in disarray. I honor the work of our border agents, but the reality is that our existing border security system is in every respect inadequate. I recognize that many diligent government workers are trying to process the claims of legal immigrants, but here again, they and the system are overwhelmed, even in trying to administer the current complicated visa system. The idea that our current immigration infrastructure can take on the real job of border security, process a multitiered amnesty program for 10 million to 12 million illegal aliens, and administer the claims of 70 million to 90 million new immigrants, in addition to its current responsibilities, is sheer fantasy. And to argue in favor of this bill on the grounds that it is a practical solution to anything shows how far from reality the proponents of this legislation have really traveled.

Mr. President, I suppose there are many in Missouri who support this bill, and I know many Senators have worked hard to come up with this legislation. But in the last month, I have received over 4,000 calls, e-mails, and letters urgently in opposition to this measure before us, and I think a word should be spoken on behalf of the concerns of those constituents. They are not paranoid because, in a world of terrorism, they want the border under control. They are not ungenerous because they worry about jobs for themselves and their children. And they are not less progressive than Washington opinionmakers because they believe in the sovereign right of a democratic people who decide who and who shouldn't become a resident of this country.

The Senate had a chance to pass a good bill, a bill that secured the border, that fixed the system of legal immigration, that developed the biometrics our border security and immigration agents need to enforce the law that stops the coyotes and the fly-by-night employers from circumventing the law and paying cash to unlawful workers. The Senate has fumbled that chance. I suppose this bill will pass, based on the votes we have had in the last week or so. My hope is that in conference with the House, the Senate will agree to a commonsense bill that I can support, one that respects the balance which the American people want, are waiting for, and have the right to expect.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Senate Live - May 25, 2006

S.2611 - The Immigration Bill : May 25, 2006
S.2611 in PDF form - 1.5 Mb (for page number references)

Link to Today's Debate

Congressional Record: May 25 Debate

List of Proposed Amendments

Text of Amendments 3960 through 3993
Text of Amendments 3994 through 4036
Text of Amendments 4037 through 4065
Corrected Text of Amendment 4052
Text of Amendments 4066 through 4082
Text of Amendments 4083 through 4084
Text of Amendments 4085 through 4107
Text of Amendments 4108 through 4182
Text of Amendments 4183 through 4186


Summary of May 24 Action on The Immigration Bill

  • S.Amdt.4085 - McConnell: to require photo ID for purposes of voting was NOT TABLED on a 48 - 49 vote, and was
    RULED NOT GERMANE by the chair
  • Cloture on S.2611 was PASSED on a 73 - 25 vote
  • The vote to waive the budget point of order was
    PASSED on a 67 - 31 vote.
    GOP votes to waive: Alexander, Bennett, Bond, Chafee, Cochran, Coleman, Collins, Craig, DeWine, Domenici, Frist, Graham, Hagel, Hutchison, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, McConnell, Murkowski, Smith, Snowe, Specter, Stevens, Voinovich and Warner
    DEM votes to uphold: Byrd, Dorgan, and Nelson (NE)
  • S.Amdt.4127 - Byrd: to fund border security with an additional $500 fee paid by the applicant, was
    PASSED on a 73 - 25 vote.
  • S.Amdt.4114 - Gregg: allocate 18,333 diversity, and 36,667 advanced degree visas per year, to reform the diversity visa program and create a program that awards visas to aliens with an advanced degree in science mathematics, technology, or engineering, was
    PASSED on a 56 - 42 vote.
  • S.Amdt.4025 - Landrieu: Intercountry Adoption Reform Act of 2006, was
    PASSED on a voice vote.
  • S.Amdt.4101 - Hutchison: SAFE visa to each alien who is a national of a NAFTA or CAFTA-DR country, 200,000 per fiscal year, or more if the president certifies that additional foreign workers are needed in that fiscal year, in job areas in the United States that have been certified by the Secretary of Labor as having a shortage of workers, was
    REJECTED on a 31 - 67 vote.
    GOP nay votes: Brownback, Bunning, Burr, Chafee, Chambliss, Collins, Craig, DeWine, Domenici, Graham, Hagel, Isakson, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, Murkowski, Shelby, Smith, Snowe, Specter, Stevens, Talent, Voinovich and Warner
  • S.Amdt.4124 - Burns: to study the impact but not make the change of excluding illegal aliens from Congressional apportionment calculations (census results are used to determine the number of representatives per state), was
    PASSED on a voice vote.
  • S.Amdt.4144 - Boxer: requirements for employers to recruit workers for the position for which the H-2C nonimmigrant is sought: an employer is going to make every effort to offer a job to an American worker before he or she hires a guest worker by simply doing two things: posting the available job, posting that information on the premises; and, second, notifying the department of employment in the State in which the business is located so they can advertise the slot, was
    PASSED on a voice vote, after amendment
  • S.Amdt.4084 - Chambliss: Earned status adjustment for agricultural workers, "blue card" program for up to 1.5 million immigrants in 5 years, to modify the eligibility requirements for blue card status and to increase the fines to be paid by aliens granted such status or legal permanent resident status, was
    TABLED on a 62 - 35 vote.
  • S.Amdt.4095 - Dorgan: To sunset the H-2C visa program after the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, was
    REJECTED on a 48 - 49 vote
  • Cloture motion filed on the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne to be Secretary of the Interior
  • Passed S.1773 - PUEBLO DE SAN ILDEFONSO CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2005
  • Passed H.Con.Res. 357 - NATIONAL CYSTIC FIBROSIS AWARENESS MONTH

Links to May 24 Debate

Congressional Record: May 24 Debate - Part I
Congressional Record: May 24 Debate - Part II
Congressional Record: May 24 Debate - Part III (Talent)
Congressional Record: May 24 Debate - Part IV (Carper)

Schedule for May 25 Action

  • 9:15 AM Senate resumes business
  • S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn: Information provided by applicants to be considered for a visa may be shared between government offices for purpose of criminal investigation, must be kept in confidence (by the government), subject to the penalty of a fine: 60 minutes, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4131 - Bingaman: immigrant visas issued on or after October 1, 2004, to spouses and children of employment-based immigrants shall not be counted against the 290,000 employment-based numerical limitation, but has a ceiling of 650,000 per year: 40 minutes, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4108 - Sessions: remove earned income tax credit (EITC) eligibility from aliens receiving adjustment of status under 408(h) of this Act who was illegally present in the United States prior to January 7, 2004, section 601 of this Act, or section 613(c) of this Act: 1 hour, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4083 - Feingold: gives the right of judicial review of deportation orders, striking language that the courts cannot grant a stay of deportation pending appeal, unless the applicant shows error of deportation order by clear and convincing evidence 1 hour, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4136 - Ensign: to clarify the meaning of the condition "all taxes have been paid": 30 minutes, equally divided
  • Stacked votes on pending amendments
  • Possibility of offering, debating and voting on a managers' amendment
  • Vote on S.2611
  • Cloture vote for Brett Kavanaugh

UPDATE @ 09:50 - Wrap up for a complex bill. Senator Specter announces that he cannot get consent to stack all the votes, so a vote will occur on Cornyn, and he will attempt to get unanimous consent to stack the balance of the votes.

UPDATE @ 10:50 - A quick detour into judicial nominations, courtesy of confirmthem.com and Bloomberg News, and then the results of the recently concluded vote on the Cornyn amendment.

No Votes on Nominees

The failure of some GOP Senators to insist that nominees at least get cloture votes is now threatening to diminish the quality of future nominees, and is making it impossible for voters to hold those Senators accountable.

The DEM strategy of abusing cloture in the context of judicial nomination has apparently been successful.

S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn: Information provided by applicants to be considered for a visa may be shared between government offices for purpose of criminal investigation, must be kept in confidence (by the government), subject to the penalty of a fine, was
REJECTED on a 49 - 49 vote. Need a majority to pass.
GOP nay votes: Chafee, DeWine, Graham, Hagel, Lugar, McCain,and Specter.

Expect a roll call vote following debate on the Bingaman amendment as well.

UPDATE @ 11:10 - Senator McCain, Mr. open borders, is giving a lecture on how Bingaman wants the US to be like France, with riots and car burnings. And anybody else who wants to impose a numerical limit that restricts ability for a person to bring their families in to become part of our society, too.

UPDATE @ 12:30 - Senator Specter notes that the Judiciary Committee has been meeting, and is engaged in a heated debate about what to do regarding the telephone companies and their role in the alleged NSA data-mining project.

Voting on the Bingaman amendment is concluded.

S.Amdt.4131 - Bingaman: immigrant visas issued on or after October 1, 2004, to spouses and children of employment-based immigrants shall not be counted against the 290,000 employment-based numerical limitation, but has a ceiling of 650,000 per year: was
PASSED on a 51 - 47 vote.
GOP nay votes: Bennett, Brownback, Chafee, Coleman, Collins, DeWine, Frist, Graham, Gregg, Hagel, Hatch, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, McConnell, Murkowski, Smith, Snowe, Specter, Stevens and Warner.
DEM aye votes: Baucus, Bayh, Biden, Bingaman, Boxer, Byrd, Carper, Conrad, Dodd, Dorgan, Feinstein, Johnson, Lincoln, Mikulski, Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Pryor, and Reed

The order of debate was changed to have Feingold's amendment come before Sessions. At some point during the proceedings, Senator Byrd will be given time to speak on the occasion of what I think would have been his 69th wedding anniversary.

UPDATE @ 12:50 - Senator Specter indicates that votes from here on out will be stacked, and further, that he supports the Feingold amendment. I predict the Feingold and Ensign amendments will pass, and the Sessions amendment will be rejected. I also predict the bill will pass, on a 68-30 margin.

UPDATE @ 13:50 - McCain coins a new term for social welfare. "Tax credit." Of course he is against the Sessions amendment. Invokes "ride in the back of the bus" parallel, and says that these amendments send a very bad message. These are workers doing the jobs that most Americans won't - the same reason our forebears came to America, says McCain.

UPDATE @ 14:27 - Debate is concluded on the Sessions amendment, and moves on to the Ensign amendment. The object is to not give the EITC for years in which they were undocumented. Low-income workers who file belated tax returns would otherwise be entitled to a refund on the order of $4,500 per year. Senator Kennedy's counterargument is that some people have overpaid income tax, and are entitled to a refund. "Overpaid" is a notion that compares taxes withheld with taxes due, where taxes due INCLUDES the EITC calculation.

It appears the stacked votes will begin at about 3:00 PM.

UPDATE @ 15:15 - Senator Graham asserted that not giving EITC is equivalent to punishment, worse punishment than the IRS inflicts on drug dealers, rapists and murderers. He sees the Ensign amendment as inflicting revenge. He admitted he has done plenty of bad things, LOL. Yeah, Lindsey, you sure have.

Senator Reid spoke on the bill in general, "Immigration, Part II," and praised the Senate for working well on the bill. He mentioned Senator Sessions, and said he admires the way that Senator Sessions conducted his argument, and that he appreciates Senator Sessions' adversarial style. And now he get to the nub, the conference, where Senator Frist earlier conceded a number of conferees that suited the Democrats.

Senator Specter asks for agreement that includes an immediate vote on the managers' amendment after the stacked votes. The managers' amendment runs 150 pages. Senator Ensign suggested that the UC request not include an immediate vote on this amendment, since it was just now delivered, and the Senators have not had a chance to review it. Senator Specter removed voting on the manager's amendment from the UC request.

UPDATE @ 15:45 - Senator Specter wandering off on the notion that Republican control of Congress is on the line, and therefore this bill should pass, and there should be a successful conference with the House so President Bush can sign a comprehensive immigration bill into law. Senator Dodd notes that part of the managers' amendment includes an obligation to consult with local authorities "on the border" before beginning construction of any wall or fence.

Senator Frist couches the bill as one that makes America better and safer, that balances the needs of a growing economy with our heritage as a land of immigrants. Sugar-coating each amendment and the general thrust of the bill, in my opinion. Thick, syrupy pap. I do agree that the mechanics of bringing amendments, debating and voting, was handled quite well.

Senator Frist thanks President Bush for requesting a comprehensive bill that was both tough, and compassionate. Senator Frist announces that he will be voting in favor of S.2611.

Senator Durbin is up. His "DREAM Act" is included. No amendment took it out. LOL, Senator Durbin called Kennedy a "war horse." Praise for Senators McCain, Specter, Leahy - and for the four Republicans who joined the Democrats to vote the McCain/Kennedy bill out of Judiciary Committee.

I'm curious about the managers' amendment, but speculate that it contains no points of contention, rather, I speculate, it is a collection of amendments previously offered that are more quickly handled in the parliamentary process by collecting them, instead of voice voting each one in turn.

UPDATE @ 15:50 - A series of three stacked votes.
Feingold, then Sessions, then Ensign.

UPDATE @ 16:19 - One for one on my pass/reject predictions.

S.Amdt.4083 - Feingold: giving the right of judicial review of deportation orders, striking language that the courts cannot grant a stay of deportation pending appeal, unless the applicant shows error of deportation order by clear and convincing evidence, was
PASSED on a 52 - 45 vote.
GOP Aye votes: Chafee, Coleman, Collins, DeWine, Hagel, Martinez, McCain, Snowe, Specter, Sununu and Voinovich
DEM Nay votes: Byrd, Nelson (NE) and Pryor

UPDATE @ 16:40 - Two for two on my pass/reject predictions.

S.Amdt.4108 - Sessions: remove earned income tax credit (EITC) eligibility from aliens receiving adjustment of status under 408(h) of this Act who was illegally present in the United States prior to January 7, 2004, section 601 of this Act, or section 613(c) of this Act, was
REJECTED on a 37 - 60 vote.
GOP Nay votes: Alexander, Chafee, Coleman, Crapo, Collins, DeWine, Domenici, Graham, Hagel, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, Santorum, Smith Specter, Snowe, Brownback, Stevens, Voinovich and Warner
DEM Aye votes: Byrd, Nelson (NE) and Stabenow

Separate subject, Judge Ikuta was voted out of the Judiciary Committee and will be on the Senate's Executive Calendar. Along with Myers, Boyle, Kavanaugh and Milan Smith.

UPDATE @ 17:03 - Three for three on my pass/reject predictions. I'll backfill crossover votes later. Those posted here are, for now, just from listening to C-SPAN2.

S.Amdt.4136 - Ensign: to clarify the meaning of the condition "all taxes have been paid," by denying EITC for past years that people worked in the country, illegally, was
PASSED on a 50 - 47 vote.
GOP Nay votes: Brownback, DeWine, Domenici, Graham, Lugar, McCain, Chafee, Martinez, Warner, Specter and Voinovich
DEM Aye votes: Stabenow, Byrd, Baucus, Carper, Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE)

Quorum call while Specter and Kennedy figure out how to handle the managers' amendment.

UPDATE @ 17:16 - Senator Specter notes that the managers package is ready for a vote, he says that it (the package) makes making sausage look good. Senator Kyl asks to speak for one minute on the managers amendment. He says it has been in busy negotiations, right up until now. Federal, state and local entities in the US would be required to consult with Mexican government before building a wall. I predict this amendment, S.Amdt.4188, will pass. Off to find the language that Senator Kyl referred to.

UPDATE @ 17:23 - Found it. Senator Dodd talked against a fence on May 18, and his S.Amdt.4089 contains the following language:

(b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.--Consultations between United States and Mexican authorities at the federal, state, and local levels concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the United States-Mexico border shall be undertaken prior to commencing any new construction, in order to solicit the views of affected communities, lessen tensions and foster greater understanding and stronger cooperation on this and other important issues of mutual concern.
UPDATE @ 17:40 - Bonus prediction (the managers' amendment), now four for four. Senator Frist voted against the managers' amendment, for what it's worth.

S.Amdt.4188 - Specter: Managers' amendment, a collection of amendments, including Dodd's S.Amdt.4089 that requires local, state and federal governments to consult with Mexican counterpart authorities before commencing new construction, was
PASSED on a 56 - 41 vote.
GOP Aye votes: Bennett, Bond, Brownback, Chafee, Coleman, Collins, Craig, Graham, Hagel, Lugar, Feingold, Collins, McCain, Specter, Stevens, Warner, Martinez, Murkowski, Snowe and Voinovich
DEM Nay votes: Byrd, Conrad, Dorgan, Lincoln, Nelson (NE) and Pryor

Now on to the whole enchilada. I mean, spring roll. Then to take the cloture vote on Kavanaugh. Senator Frist has a fair number of additional items that he wants to conclude before the close of business tomorrow: Vote the Kavanaugh, Hayden (CIA), Portman (OMB), and Schwab (USTR) nominations, and vote on an appropriations bill.

Senator Landrieu asked consent to change her vote on Roll Call vote No. 131, which was on S.Amdt.4064 - Inhofe: English to be the official language, and Inhofe's sense that there is NO reason for EO 13166 to continue in force. She voted for the amendment and today changed her vote to being against it.

UPDATE @ 17:59 - Predicted 'em all today! Unusual, because my prediction average is just a little better than .500, but I think by now the patterns are fairly clear, among the Senators that is, on the subject of immigration reform. So the Senate's immigration abomination has passed, and is on its way to conference. My vote prediction on the bill was 68-30. Where to from here? Who knows.

S.2611 - Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 was
PASSED on a 62 - 36 vote.
GOP Aye votes: Bennett, Brownback, Chafee, Coleman, Collins, Craig, DeWine, Domenici, Frist, Graham, Gregg, Hagel, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, McConnell, Murkowski, Smith, Snowe, Specter, Stevens, Voinovich and Warner
DEM Nay votes: Byrd, Dorgan, Nelson (NE), and Stabenow

See the comments following the May 15 Senate Live post for a description of the conference process. Some of the Senate conferees are known: 7 from the GOP, Specter, Hatch, Grassley, Kyl, DeWine, Sessions, and Graham; and 5 from the Democrats, Leahy, Kennedy, Biden, Kohl and Feinstein. Senator Frist and Senator Reid will each choose 7 more, for a total of 26 Senators in the conference committee. This from May 11 ...

unanimous consent agreement--S. 2611
[Page: S4385]

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that unless cloture is invoked on the pending substitute to S. 1955, on Monday, May 15, at a time to be determined by the majority leader after consultation with the Democratic leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 2611, the immigration bill. I further ask that when the Senate agrees to a request for a conference or the Senate requests a conference on this bill and the Chair is authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate, the ratio of conferees be 14 to 12; provided further that from that ratio, the first 7 Republican Senators from the Judiciary Committee and the first 5 Democratic Senators from the Judiciary Committee be conferees; finally, I ask unanimous consent that the majority leader select the final 7 from the majority side and the Democratic leader select the final 7 for the minority side.

Senator Reid wanted to send the 18 members of the Judiciary Committee, according to the May 2, 2006 Congressional Record, and likely earlier as well.

UPDATE @ 18:33 - The cloture vote for limiting debate on Kavanaugh is concluded.

Cloture on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh was
PASSED on a 67 - 30 vote.
DEMs for cloture: Biden, Byrd, Carper, Kohl, Landrieu, Lieberman, Lincoln, Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Obama, and Pryor

Senator Specter asks if it is appropriate to begin the debate on the confirmation of Kavanaugh, and must learn that it is appropriate, because he starts to discuss why he supports the nomination. His argument that the President chooses and the Senate votes rings hollow to me, because the Senate has decided to ignore good nominees: Haynes, Boyle and Myers, to name names. Hypocritical, methinks, to say Kavanaugh deserves a vote because all nominees do.

UPDATE @ 19:25 - Leahy blathered for some time against Kavanaugh. Senator Cornyn rises to rebut.

UPDATE @ 19:55 - A bit of housekeeping completed above, naming Senators' positions on various votes. Meanwhile, the Senate drones on about Kavanaugh, and Senator Craig brings up that the Senate will be voting on three nominations tomorrow, Kavanaugh and a cloture vote on the nomination of Kempthorne. I don't know who the third is, but hope to catch "the program" when the Senate closes shop for the night.

UPDATE @ 20:45 - Senator Hatch also drones on, and lets out that the 3rd nomination to be handled tomorrow is that of General Hayden. Senator Roberts delivers a testimonial for General Hayden. Senator Frist just outlined the planned schedule for tomorrow morning, as follows:

  • 08:45 convene the Senate
  • Vote on the Kavanaugh nomination
  • Vote on the Hayden nomination
  • Permit Senator Nelson to speak
  • Cloture vote on the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne
  • Permit Senator Landrieu to speak for 10 minutes
  • Vote on the Kempthorne nomination (assuming cloture was invoked)
  • Get out of town for the Memorial Day recess

Senator Wyden speaking on Hayden. He is laying groundwork to justify voting against the confirmation of Hayden, which is basically the NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program.

UPDATE @ 21:30 - Frist closes shop. Nothing striking below (except the measure to cause coins to be struck in recognition of the San Francisco mint) ...

  • Pass S.2856 Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006
  • Pass S.Res.469 A resolution condemning the April 25, 2006, beating and intimidation of Cuban dissident Martha Beatriz Roque
  • Pass S.Res.236 A resolution recognizing the need to pursue research into the causes, a treatment, and an eventual cure for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, supporting the goals and ideals of National Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week
  • Pass H.R.1953 To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the Old Mint at San Francisco
  • Pass S.633 A bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of veterans who became disabled for life while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States
  • H.R.4061 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the management of information technology within the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • S.1235 Senate concur with House amendments -- To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve and extend housing, insurance, outreach, and benefits programs provided under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to improve and extend employment programs for veterans under laws administered by the Secretary of Labor
  • First reading of S.3064
Obama, Levin and Schumer to continue yacking into the night. Objecting to Kavanaugh and/or Hayden.

UPDATE @ 21:50 - Schumer's speech was objection to Kavanaugh, Levin's is support for Hayden. Levin's support is based on his impression that Hayden said the evidence does not confirm or deny a link between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, but Feith tended to draw such a link, and thereby add some weight to the war against Saddam Hussein's regime.

Levin is harsh against the administration, but not against Hayden.

UPDATE @ 22:07 - Senate is adjourned

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Senate Live - May 24, 2006

S.2611 - The Immigration Bill : May 24, 2006
S.2611 in PDF form - 1.5 Mb (for page number references)

List of Proposed Amendments

Text of Amendments 3960 through 3993
Text of Amendments 3994 through 4036
Text of Amendments 4037 through 4065
Corrected Text of Amendment 4052
Text of Amendments 4066 through 4082
Text of Amendments 4083 through 4084
Text of Amendments 4085 through 4107
Text of Amendments 4108 through 4182


Summary of May 23 Action on The Immigration Bill

  • S.Amdt.4087 - Feinstein: to establish an orange card program that would put all illegal immigrants in country since January 1, 2006 on a path to permanent residency and citizenship, and would remove the 3-tier system of Hagel/Martinez, was REJECTED on a 37 - 61 vote
  • S.Amdt.4117 - Leahy: Waiver of immigration rules for applicants whose indirect support for armed rebels has put them in technical violation of American antiterrorism laws, was TABLED on a 79 - 19 vote.
    GOP Nay votes: Chafee, Coleman, Sununu
  • S.Amdt.4177 - Grassley: Title III provisions, mandatory electronic employment eligibility verification system, was PASSED on a 58 - 40 vote.
    GOP Aye votes: Chafee, Collins, DeWine, Graham, Grassley, Gregg, Hagel, Lugar, McCain, Snowe, Specter, Stevens and Warner
    DEM Nay votes: Dorgan and Nelson (NE)
  • S.Amdt.4106 - Kennedy: Adjustments to worker safety and to collective bargaining relating to unfair labor practices, was TABLED on a 56 - 41 vote
  • S.Amdt.4142 - Durbin: humanitarian waiver, if deportation would cause extreme hardship on a member of immediate family, only for violations that are created by this bill, was TABLED on a 63 - 34 vote
    GOP Nay vote: Specter

Links to May 23 Debate

Congressional Record: May 23 Debate - Part I
Congressional Record: May 23 Debate - Part II
Congressional Record: May 23 Debate - Part III (Sessions - again)

Schedule for May 24 Action

  • 08:30 - Senate opens on S.2611
  • S.Amdt.4085 - McConnell: need photo ID in order to vote - debate until 9:30 equally divided
  • 09:30 - Vote on S.Amdt.4085
  • 10:00 - Cloture vote on S.2611

Other pending action - order approximate

The UC agreement provides that Democrats will offer amendments alternating with each of the following GOP amendments. Further, that at any time in the course of the proceedings, the parties have agreed to consider a managers' amendment (likely as a hedge by party leadership, in case any "poison pill" amendment passes) ...

  • S.Amdt.4127 - Byrd/Gregg: to fund border security activities
  • S.Amdt.4114 - Gregg: allocate 18,333 diversity, and 36,667 advanced degree visas per year
  • S.Amdt.4101 - Hutchison: SAFE visa to each alien who is a national of a NAFTA or CAFTA-DR country, 200,000 per fiscal year, or more if the president certifies that additional foreign workers are needed in that fiscal year
  • S.Amdt.4036 - Lieberman: a person seeking asylum from persecution (under convention on Torture) shall not be prosecuted for immigration violation until their asylum situation has been adjudicated and denied
  • S.Amdt.4124 - Burns: to exclude illegal aliens from Congressional apportionment calculations (census results are used to determine the number of representatives per state)
  • S.Amdt.4084 - Chambliss: Earned status adjustment for agricultural workers, "blue card" program for up to 1.5 million immigrants in 5 years
  • S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn: Information provided by applicants to be considered for a visa must be kept in confidence (by the government), subject to the penalty of a fine
  • S.Amdt.4108 - Sessions: remove earned income tax credit (EITC) eligibility from aliens receiving adjustment of status under 408(h) of this Act who was illegally present in the United States prior to January 7, 2004, section 601 of this Act, or section 613(c) of this Act
  • S.Amdt.4134 - Kyl: establishing effective dates for implementing employment and immigration eligibility "electronic check" facilities

Press Reports

New York Times:
Senate Backs Job Verification for Immigrants

(Grassley Amdt.4177)

White House officials declined to comment, but participants in negotiations on the amendment said officials were concerned with a provision that would require the federal government to reimburse workers who were fired because of a mistake involving the system. ...

Under the employment verification provision, job applicants deemed illegal would have 10 days to challenge that determination with the Department of Homeland Security. If homeland security officials failed to confirm that determination within 30 days, the applicant would be considered legal to work.


deseretnews:
Fox targets 'walls'


The Hill:
Nominee is help up by Graham

Graham yesterday denied placing a secret hold on Haynes, but he declined to say whether he supports Haynes's nomination. Senate sources say, however, that Graham is the reason Haynes has remained bottled up in the Judiciary Committee.


howappealing:
Commission on Judicial Conduct Admonishes Justice Hecht

A Texas Supreme Court justice misused his office to promote the nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct has ruled.

Public Admonition: Honorable Nathan L. Hecht

On or about October 1, 2005, Texas Supreme Court Justice Hecht spoke with a White House advisor about the possible nomination of his close friend, Harriet Miers, and agreed to:

  • provide factual information to Dr. James Dobson and others about Miers' experience and background, including information about her religious views and her views on abortion
  • make daily reports to White House staff regarding his media activities
  • permit the White House to refer media inquiries directly to him

During the week following the October 3rd announcement, he participated in approximately 120 media interviews concerning Miers' nomination.


Wow. What a shame. I was fooled into thinking that Hecht's testimonial for Miers was unsolicited. He may have done so, unsolicited, but there is no way to unring the bell. Once a person is solicited and agrees, there is no way to tell if they would have volunteered a testimonial on their own volition. And I questioned the ethics of the WH asking other judges to vouch for Miers, on October 15. Pretty sad all around, since I like what I have read of Hecht's jurisprudence.

---===---

October 20, 2006 - No Reprimand in Judge's Support of Miers

A three-judge panel dismissed the reprimand of a Texas Supreme Court justice who publicly endorsed his friend Harriet Miers after her short-lived U.S. Supreme Court nomination.


UPDATE @ 08:25 - The Congressional Record isn't up yet, so the links to the text of amendments and amendment lists from yesterday, as well as links to yesterday's debate, will be filled in later.

I notice that FoxNews is focused on the use of electronic systems to verify eligibility for employment, but overlooks the objectionable part of Grassley's amendment that provides a right to sue the Federal government if a job is denied due to a false report of ineligibility, where Cornyn suggests an administrative remedy (something short of going to court) would be simpler and less of a burden on the court system.

UPDATE @ 08:40 - McConnell advances S.2803 - Mine safety for immediate consideration and passage on a voice vote. Short speech from Senator Kennedy, supporting the passage, and congratulations to Senators Enzi and McConnell.

Back to immigration, McConnell segues into discussion of S.Amdt.4085, which aims to protect the franchise of voting to citizens. Even if this doesn't pass in this context, it ought to be brought up and passed, period.

UPDATE @ 09:00 - Amendment text and May 23 debate links are working, brief descriptions of amendments have been provided in the summary list. Caveat - I am prone to accidentally misrepresent the gist of amendments. Please excuse as I am doing this in a hurry and without rigorous care.

UPDATE @ 10:00 - Voting is concluded on Dodd's Motion to Table the McConnell amendment. This leaves the matter unsettled, meaning the amendment hasn't been adopted, and is still potentially the business of the Senate. It's a "sense of the Senate" sort of thing, hanging out there "untabled" but not passed. I assume that neither Senator Frist nor Senator Specter will call the amendment up for a vote, and will instead use this morning's event as fodder for political rhetoric.

S.Amdt.4085 - McConnell: need photo ID in order to vote was NOT TABLED on a 48 - 49 vote.

The Senate is now voting on a Cloture Motion on S.2611, after which it will stand in recess until noon.

UPDATE @ 10:29 - Cloture vote is concluded, and passes by a wide margin. I had predicted a 72-26 vote.

Cloture on S.2611 was PASSED on a 73 - 25 vote.

Senator Frist goes on to talk about welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and the strong relationship between the United States and Israel. The Senate now stands in recess until noon.

UPDATE @ 12:12 - The McConnell amendment was disposed of. Senator Kennedy made a parliamentary inquiry, asserting that the amendment was not germane. The chair (Murkowski) upheld the point of order, and the McConnell amendment relating to requiring photo identification for the purpose of voting was stricken.

S.Amdt.4085 - McConnell: need photo ID in order to vote, was RULED NOT GERMANE by the chair.

Senator Byrd is up. He talks about mine safety, and the passage of S.2803 - Mine safety earlier today.

Then he offers S.Amdt.4127 - Bryd/Gregg that funds border security with an additional $500 fee paid by the applicant.

UPDATE @ 12:40 - Would make available funds to detect and detain those who are not admissible under the law, some funds coming from a $500 fee to apply for immigration visa. Senator Specter has coaxed Senator Byrd into a one hour time agreement, and indicates (off microphone) that there will be a series of stacked votes.

After the debate on Byrd/Gregg, look for debate on S.Amdt.4114 - Gregg: to allocate 18,333 diversity, and 36,667 advanced degree visas per year.

UPDATE @ 13:00 - Senator Specter objects to the Byrd/Gregg amendment, as it increases the fees payable to the illegal immigrants, and will keep them from coming forward. Specter indicates that the fines and fees were carefully calibrated by the Judiciary Committee, as it crafted the bill. He will therefore oppose the amendment.

After Gregg's 4114, the Senate will move on to a Landrieu amendment. Senator Sessions laid out the order of progression, and this is big news, the schedule includes Senator Sessions raising a budget point of order. The reason that is "big," is that assuming there is a budget issue (I think the CBO report makes it so), waiver of the budget point of order requires 60 votes. I figure this will pass, as did cloture, but it poses enough of an issue that Senator Specter has allocated 90 minutes of debate -- 30 for Sessions, 30 for Kennedy, and 30 for himself -- on the subject of budget waiver.

Here is a summary of the order, likely to take the rest of the day:

  • S.Amdt.4114 - Gregg: diversity and advanced degree visa allocation: 60 minutes of debate
  • S.Amdt.4025 - Landrieu: Intercountry Adoption Reform Act of 2006: 20 minutes of debate
  • S.Amdt.4101 - Hutchison: SAFE visa: 30 minutes for debate
  • Senator Sessions budget point of order: 120 minutes of debate
  • Vote on the budget point of order
  • Vote on 4127 the Byrd/Gregg amendment
  • Vote on 4114 the Gregg amendment
  • Vote on 4025 the Landrieu amendment
  • Vote on 4101 the Hutchison amendment
UPDATE @ 14:05 - Debate on the Gregg amendment is concluded. Senator Specter notes that he and Kennedy both support Landrieu's amendment, and it would pass on a voice vote, but for previously expressed objection.

UPDATE @ 14:15 - Senator Kennedy indicates a willingness to voice vote Landrieu's amendment, unless a Senator comes to the floor and voices objection. Senator Specter proposes that the decision between roll call and voice voting occur at the sequence in votes above, which is agreeable to all. The Senate moves on to the Hutchison amendment. Specter also indicated that the time agreement on Sessions budget point of order is for two hours -- summary adjusted accordingly.

UPDATE @ 15:00 - Senators Hutchison, Bond and Sessions described the SAFE visa program as a true temporary worker program, where a subscriber to "it" is not able to concurrently be on a path to permanent residency or citizenship. The worker is not eligible for government-sponsored social services. SAFE = "Secure Authorized Foreign Employee." Senator Hutchison is also expressing a sentiment that indicates she will vote in favor of S.2611 at the end of all the debates.

Senator Allard rises to make the budget point of order. He requests a point of order that the bill is in violation of section 407(b) of H.Con.Res.95 ...

SEC. 407. LIMITATION ON LONG-TERM SPENDING PROPOSALS.

(a) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ANALYSIS OF PROPOSALS- The Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall, to the extent practicable, prepare for each bill or joint resolution reported from committee (except measures within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations), or amendments thereto or conference reports thereon, an estimate of whether the measure would cause, relative to current law, a net increase in direct spending in excess of $5 billion in any of the four 10-year periods beginning in fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2055.

(b) POINT OF ORDER- In the Senate, it shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that would cause a net increase in direct spending in excess of $5 billion in any of the four 10-year periods beginning in 2016 through 2055.

(c) WAIVER- This section may be waived or suspended only by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.

Link to May 16, 2006 CBO Report on S.2611

That's a 200 kB PDF file, not too big. A selected quote:

CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting this legislation would increase direct spending by $13 billion over the 2007-2011 period and by $54 billion over the 2007-2016 period. Pursuant to section 407 of H. Con. Res. 95 (the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, Fiscal Year 2006), CBO estimates that enacting S. 2611 would cause an increase in direct spending greater than $5 billion in each of the 10-year periods between 2016 and 2055. JCT and CBO estimate that the bill would increase total federal revenues by about $66 billion over the 2007-2016 period. Assuming appropriation of the amounts authorized in the bill, discretionary spending would increase by $25 billion over the 2007-2011 period.

Senator Sessions draws much of his material from the writings of ...

Link to Heritage Foundation Studies
Highly Recommended

UPDATE @ 15:40 - Senator Allard expresses gratitude to Senator Sessions for doing yeoman's work in sounding the alarm. He also indicates that the CBO figures are probably low, and that the Heritage Foundation figures are likewise a bit low, but has an effect of 30 billion dollars in incremental spending, each year. That is, 30 billion in year one, 60 in year two, 90 in year three, and so forth. Obviously, that levels off somewhere, but it's quite a bit more than the CBO's 66 billion dollars in the first ten years.

Senator Sessions' amendment (4108) to eliminate EITC eligibility would reduce the outlay, and he said yesterday that the EITC payout represents 29 of the 66 billion in the CBO figures.

"This bill is a fiscal catastrophe," says Sessions, quoting Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation.

I predict that this budget point of order will be waived, but not by as wide a margin as the cloture motion passed, earlier this morning. I'll hazard a more precise prediction of 64 - 34, the budget provision will be waived.

UPDATE @ 15:50 - Senator Coburn up to spread good cheer. He thinks the system is unsustainable. Doom and gloom Republican. Kick him out. He says we have an unfunded liability that exceeds the net worth of the country. I like the "million dollars a day, every day, since Christ was born, 600 years from now you would be one trillion dollars in the hole" calculation. At any rate, Senator Coburn notes, correctly, that Congress thinks in election cycles, not in generation cycles. And I submit that 80% of voters think in monthly cycles.

Lowered standard of living, less opportunity for the natives. Hey - that is the intended result. He best be careful about saying so out loud. The best way to accomplish this result is over a period of generations, because adults object to their PERSONAL standard of living being reduced.

UPDATE @ 16:10 - Senator Graham "I want to share this with my President and my Democratic colleagues," referring to the good economy. He strongly supports the immigration program, which is no surprise, as he is mini-McCain. His logical rationale is that the immigrants are good workers, hard workers, and this country has [insert amount of] room for such workers. His analysis bypasses the "average income" or "standard of living" issue, alluded to above. Sure, there is room for more workers. Heck, China has more workers - good ones too, I'm sure of that.

Going on the "net benefit" justification also misses the point of "what is the benefit to the natives?"

Respect for American Fallen Heroes Act

Senator Frist interrupts to bring H.R.5037 - The Respect for American Fallen Heroes Act, which prohibits protesting at 122 National Cemeteries, and within 500 feet of the cemetery within 1 hour either side of a funeral. He speaks briefly to assert that the bill is crafted to pass 1st amendment attacks, and he quotes from the Bible, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

The bill was read, and passed on a voice vote.

Back to Immigration

A fair number of Senators speaking in favor of the budget point of order, who will vote against the motion to waive it. Coburn, Vitter, DeMint, Allard, Sessions, Nelson ... but it won't be enough to stop the juggernaut.

UPDATE @ 16:30 - Senator McCain, the next President of the United States, rises to deliver his gratitude and thanks to Senators Kennedy, Salazar and others. As a budget hawk, Senator McCain has to justify voting to waive the budget point of order, and does so by disputing the calculations in the CBO report; and by (justifiably) factoring in amendments passed. But putting aside the money, says he, the intent of this body is to pass an comprehensive immigration reform bill, and Sessions, et al are not so interested in the budget as they are in derailing the bill because they are against the bill. McCain cites Senator Sessions press release regarding the budget point of order as support for the point - "derail the bill." Well, hell yes, they are against the bill, and have given a number of reasons why they are.

McCain emphasizes "humane and dignified," and invokes the will expressed by President Bush to have Congress send an immigration reform bill that is comprehensive.

White House - Comprehensive Immigration Reform

  1. The United States Must Secure Its Borders
    • we have ended catch and release for illegal immigrants from some countries (which ones?)
  2. To Secure Our Border, We Must Create A Temporary Worker Program
    • match willing foreign workers with willing American employers for jobs Americans are not doing, must return to their home country at the conclusion of their stay
  3. We Need To Hold Employers To Account For The Workers They Hire
    • Tamper-Resistant Identification Card (to leave employers with no excuse for violating the law)
  4. We Must Deal With The Millions Of Illegal Immigrants Already Here
    • Those who meet our conditions [has worked here for many years, and has a home, a family, and an otherwise clean record] should be able to apply for citizenship but approval will not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who followed the law.
  5. We Must Honor The Great American Tradition Of The Melting Pot

Senator McCain hopes this is the last poison pill that defenders of this bill need to fight off.

UPDATE @ 16:40 - Senator Specter calls the budget point of order an arcane technicality, and says "this artifice, should not be used to defeat this bill." He's concerned that the bill may be lost on the budget point of order. Such theatre!

UPDATE @ 16:54 - Looks like the Senate will be ready to vote on the point of order by 5 o'clock. Senator Sessions comes on to say that he is in favor of increasing immigration, but not by a factor of three. He notes that in the eleventh year, immigrants become citizens and obtain many new rights, such as bringing in parents.

Senator Sessions says the Senate shouldn't hurry on this, but I recall immigration being the subject of debate before Easter, oh, maybe 6 weeks ago. Senator Specter indicates a surprise at the budget point of order being raised at this late stage in the proceedings. He'd expected, after two weeks to finish up tonight or tomorrow. His argument is bogus, because at the beginning there was hope of passing substantial amendments. Now, seeing the near final product, is not an inappropriate time to raise the point.

Specter's argument is that the financial calculations are intangible, compared with the weighty measures subsumed in a comprehensive immigration package. He asserts that the economic engine of the country will yield benefits by increases in immigration numbers.

Voting on the budget point of order begins at 16:53. My prediction (above) was waiver passes, 64-34.

UPDATE @ 17:20 - The point of order passed by a wider margin (67-31) than I predicted, but still not as wide as cloture, so I count my prediction as partly right. Not bad for going only on intuition. I predict all the other "stacked amendments" will pass.

Senator Kennedy says we're immigrating the poorest of the poor, who will be working for minimum wage. Well, hey, give him points for honesty. Tried to conclude by a voice vote, but it was too close to call. I'm out of here for awhile. Keep the lights on for me.

UPDATE @ 17:20 - Back in time to hear the last few words of debate preceding the vote on Hutchison's amendment. I'll fill in vote results and tallies as they become available at the Senate's roll call vote page.

The list of "no" votes on Byrd looks like the major "big immigration" proponents. The list of GOP "no" votes on Hutchison is likewise unsurprising, and ought to be spun as voting against President Bush's expressed desire for a guest worker program.

The vote to waive the budget point of order was PASSED on a 67 - 31 vote.
GOP votes to waive: Alexander, Bennett, Bond, Chafee, Cochran, Coleman, Collins, Craig, DeWine, Domenici, Frist, Graham, Hagel, Hutchison, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, McConnell, Murkowski, Smith, Snowe, Specter, Stevens, Voinovich and Warner
DEM votes to uphold: Byrd, Dorgan, and Nelson (NE)

S.Amdt.4127 - Byrd: to fund border security with an additional $500 fee paid by the applicant, was PASSED on a 73 - 25 vote.

S.Amdt.4114 - Gregg: allocate 18,333 diversity, and 36,667 advanced degree visas per year, to reform the diversity visa program and create a program that awards visas to aliens with an advanced degree in science mathematics, technology, or engineering, was PASSED on a 56 - 42 vote.

S.Amdt.4025 - Landrieu: Intercountry Adoption Reform Act of 2006, was PASSED on a voice vote.

S.Amdt.4101 - Hutchison: SAFE visa to each alien who is a national of a NAFTA or CAFTA-DR country, 200,000 per fiscal year, or more if the president certifies that additional foreign workers are needed in that fiscal year, in job areas in the United States that have been certified by the Secretary of Labor as having a shortage of workers, was REJECTED on a 31 - 67 vote.
GOP nay votes: Brownback, Bunning, Burr, Chafee, Chambliss, Collins, Craig, DeWine, Domenici, Graham, Hagel, Isakson, Lugar, Martinez, McCain, Murkowski, Shelby, Smith, Snowe, Specter, Stevens, Talent, Voinovich and Warner

So much for my prediction skills. Hutchison's amendment went down in flames. Still on that 3 out of 4 jag.


Senator Specter lists the following amendments to be in order (some back and forth, due to difficulty in obtaining agreement on Sessions 4108), with a series of stacked votes to occur tonight, following the debate:

  • S.Amdt.4144 - Boxer: 24 minutes, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4124 - Burns: to study the impact but not make the change of excluding illegal aliens from Congressional apportionment calculations (census results are used to determine the number of representatives per state)
  • S.Amdt.4084 - Chambliss: Earned status adjustment for agricultural workers, "blue card" program for up to 1.5 million immigrants in 5 years
  • S.Amdt.4095 - Dorgan: to sunset guest worker provisions in 5 years: 40 minutes, equally divided
S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn was first proposed to be the last of four tonight, and Specter moved S.Amdt.4095 - Dorgan into it's place, pending resolution of handling S.Amdt.4108 - Sessions. Therefore, the schedule for tomorrow is apt to include the following amendments:

  • S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn: Information provided by applicants to be considered for a visa must be kept in confidence (by the government), subject to the penalty of a fine
  • S.Amdt.4131 - Bingaman: 40 minutes, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4108 - Sessions: remove earned income tax credit (EITC) eligibility from aliens receiving adjustment of status under 408(h) of this Act who was illegally present in the United States prior to January 7, 2004, section 601 of this Act, or section 613(c) of this Act: 1 hour, equally divided - objected by DEMs
  • S.Amdt.4083 - Feingold: 1 hour, equally divided

Specter and Kennedy hold the option to offer a manager's amendment, then the bill would be read a third time, and the Senate would proceed to vote on the bill as amended.


S.Amdt.4124 - Burns: to study the impact but not make the change of excluding illegal aliens from Congressional apportionment calculations (census results are used to determine the number of representatives per state), was PASSED on a voice vote.

UPDATE @ 20:00 - McCain up registering opposition to Dorgan's proposal to sunset the guest worker provision. He indicates that the 1986 provisions for enforcement failed because technology didn't permit it. But today, with biometrics and other big brother stuff, we can control the movement and employment of workers.

The language on the Senate floor is so twisted, where senators talk of "temporary workers" but the worker is on a path to permanent residency. It's dialog intended to confuse the listener in order to reach an objective. I disagree that creation of an enforcement infrastructure is wasted based on sunsetting or revision of the rules.

Now Kennedy comes out saying that a goal of the program is to develop Mexico. If the globalist agenda isn't clear from this sort of talk (and it isn't, to most listeners), then the people of this country deserve exactly the control that is to be asserted for "their" benefit.

UPDATE @ 20:20 - LOL. Dorgan comes up with the solution. Relabel the people from illegal" to "legal." I add, also make the program comprehensive.

Senator Graham reneged on his yielding of time to the Dorgan amendment. And goes on to say that his state needs workers, then goes on to say he needs temporary workers that assimilate into the economy. Huh? Temporary, yet assimilated and permanent? "We need people to keep this economy humming."

Dorgan gets back in about jobs leaving, but hey, Senator Dorgan, companies leave for a variety of reasons, not all of them being related to labor supply and/or immigration policy. See e.g., all the other regulation.

Senator Boxer is back up, with a modification to her S.Amdt.4144 that is designed to simplify the employer's chore relating to making it known that a job is available.

S.Amdt.4144 - Boxer: as amended, was PASSED on a voice vote.

S.Amdt.4084 - Chambliss: Earned status adjustment for agricultural workers, "blue card" program for up to 1.5 million immigrants in 5 years, was TABLED on a 62 - 35 vote.

Senator Specter lays out tomorrow's program as follows:

  • 9:15 AM Senate resumes business
  • S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn: Information provided by applicants to be considered for a visa must be kept in confidence (by the government), subject to the penalty of a fine: 60 minutes, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4131 - Bingaman: 40 minutes, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4108 - Sessions: remove earned income tax credit (EITC) eligibility from aliens receiving adjustment of status under 408(h) of this Act who was illegally present in the United States prior to January 7, 2004, section 601 of this Act, or section 613(c) of this Act: 1 hour, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4083 - Feingold: 1 hour, equally divided
  • S.Amdt.4136 - Ensign: (I wonder if this is to be 4036, Lieberman)

It is noted that Senator Warner passed his 10,000th vote - big cheer. Praise for Senator Warner all around, only 25 other Senators have made this benchmark. Warner thanks the Lord for strength and wisdom, and luck; and thanks the people of Virginia.

S.Amdt.4095 - Dorgan: to sunset guest worker provisions in 5 years, was REJECTED on a 48 - 49 vote.

UPDATE @ 21:25 - One of the last votes on Dorgan is by Collins. I bet Lieberman is in tow. Frist's vote followed Collins' vote (in time), then Lincoln, Pryor.

UPDATE @ 21:35 - Senator Talent rises in opposition to the bill. Too much immigration, too fast, will depress wages and dispirit the natives. This is a good speech. He supports border security, but not the wide-open immigration provisions that appear in this bill.

The pressure on the border is increasing because we are discussing amnesty, and the bill opens jobs for low tier work. Our first responsibility is to our own people, including those who do not go to college. Damn - this is one of the best speeches to date, if not THE BEST, and I say that from the perspective of having listened to all of Sessions' speeches.

Budget commitment of this magnitude, in favor of foreign workers that this country may not even need. He notes the inability of the bureaucracy to deal with the number of applications. Some immigrants are in queues as long as 22 years (Philipinos).

Senator Carper speaking now, also a fairly tough stance.

UPDATE @ 22:00 - Carper is looking for an increase in minimum wage, but he also sees loose immigration policy as producing a pitfall of wage depressant. Interesting how right meets left, for different reasons. He's concerned that the Congress will pass a "bad" bill [loose immigration policy] to President Bush, but worse still, may do nothing. He notices President Bush for showing leadership on immigration.

First nylon plant ever is in Seaford, Delaware, still has 1,000 employees in a town of 5 or 10 thousand. He notes that one native of Seaford, Cory Palmer, gave his life in Iraq. Another casualty, Sean Varney, had been a member of Senator Carper's staff. Varney was shot by a sniper, in the neck, just missed his adams apple, and survived.

Marine Rick James of Seaford, lost his life. Senator Carper was at the funeral. The town of Seaford lost three this month. He notes the losses as causes of sorrow - and of pride - as the town of Seaford wells up.

Me too.

UPDATE @ 22:30 - Frist closed the Senate. He filed a cloture motion on the nomination of Kempthorn. S.1773 was passed, H.Con.Res.357 was passed. Senator Frist noted that he anticipated the passage of S.2611 early tomorrow afternoon, followed by a cloture vote on Kavanaugh (I think Kavanaugh will not be confirmed before Memorial day), and then indefinite timing to voting advice and consent on Hayden (CIA), Portman (OMB) and Schwab (USTR).

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Senate Live - May 23, 2006

S.2611 - The Immigration Bill : May 23, 2006
S.2611 in PDF form - 1.5 Mb (for page number references)

List of Proposed Amendments

Text of Amendments 3960 through 3993
Text of Amendments 3994 through 4036
Text of Amendments 4037 through 4065
Corrected Text of Amendment 4052
Text of Amendments 4066 through 4082
Text of Amendments 4083 through 4084
Text of Amendments 4085 through 4107


Summary of May 22 Action on The Immigration Bill

  • S.Amdt.4009 - Chambliss: The amendment would mandate the minimum salary payment of "prevailing wage" or the state minimum wage (whichever is higher) for H-2A visa and S. 2611-created "blue card" agricultural workers. S. 2611 currently does not have "blue card" wage floor provision, but mandates that H-2A workers are to be paid, at a minimum, the higher of the applicable minimum wage, the prevailing wage, or the adverse affect wage rate (AEWR), was TABLED on a 50 - 43 vote
  • S.Amdt.4076 - Ensign: amendment would authorize many parts of the President's plan to make members of the National Guard temporarily available to assist the Department of Homeland Security in its mission to maintain the integrity of United States' international borders. It provides that a state Governor may order any units or personnel of the National Guard of such state for annual training duty to carry out in any State along the southern land border various activities authorized for the purpose of security of that border, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, was PASSED on a 83 - 10 vote
  • Cloture Motion filed to conclude debate on S.2611
  • Cloture Motion filed to vote advice and consent on the Kavanaugh nomination

Links to May 22 Debate

Congressional Record: May 22 Debate on S.2611 - Part I
Congressional Record: May 22 Debate on S.2611 - Part II
Congressional Record: May 22 Debate on S.2611 - Part III (Sessions)

Schedule for May 23 Action


Blast from the Past: Checking (as usual) Judicial confirmation news at confirmthem.com I ran into a news from the past in the form of Patrick Knowlton's addendum to Fisk's (special prosecutor) report. This is tangentially relevant to the Kavanaugh nomination as it was Kavanaugh who fought (unsuccessfully) to have the addendum suppressed. Kavanaugh was also unsuccessful in convincing Starr to NOT pursue the possibility of perjury relating to President Clinton's testimony regarding Monica Lewinski. I wonder whether Hillary Clinton's objection to Mr. Kavanaugh is based on his failure to deliver the results the Clinton family expected.


From yesterday's closing remarks by Senator Frist (gag me - Senator Frist mentions the "good" of Inhofe without noting the mixed message as a result of the Senate passing both Inhofe and Salazar).

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be closing shortly, but I do want to comment briefly on the immigration bill today. I want to make a few remarks on where we are and then where we will be going. ...

We have had a number of amendments that have been interesting to watch as we have gone forward. Mr. Sessions, the Senator from Alabama, had an amendment early on to strengthen our southern border, to build those 370 miles of triple-layered fence, and 500 miles of vehicle barriers at strategic locations--a clear-cut improvement on the bill, strengthening the bill along the border consistent with our first priority; that is, to secure that border.

The Senate also approved the amendment by Senators KYL, GRAHAM, CORNYN, and ALLEN to close a loophole in the bill that would allow criminal aliens to obtain legal status. Once people looked at that, they said that is only common sense. Again, it became overwhelmingly supported in a bipartisan way--again, an important demonstration of why it was important to have open debate and amendment. That amendment clarifies that any illegal alien who is ineligible for a visa or who has been convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors is ineligible for a green card--again, just common sense.

Another commonsense issue of national cohesion that really hits at the heart of what makes this country great was when the Senate voted in favor of an amendment by Senator Inhofe to require that English be declared our national language of the United States. As people listened to that and digested what it meant, people said: Well, of course English is a necessary tool for every aspiring American to be successful and to join the mainstream of American society.

I notice that Senator Sessions' four "new" amendments, discussed yesterday (and listed at the end of that post), weren't submitted for printing yesterday. But thinking about Senator Sessions, I suggest, for fun, you read the April 6 post where Senator Sessions says (referring to the Hagel/Martinez compromise, as it stood, unamended), "It is a colossal failure. It is a dead horse. It has been lying out in the sun, and people have been having to look at it, and they are now able to smell it."

I think the horse is still dead, but Senator Feinstein aims to revive it this morning. I wonder if Senator McCain will be as harsh on DiFi as he was on Sessions and Kyl, when he said, referring to S.Amdt.3969, and arguing that citizenship should be given liberally ...

Mr. McCAIN. ... If this amendment should pass, that whole compromise is destroyed because a fundamental part of that compromise was that those who have been here for 2 to 5 years, after having gone back to a port of embarkation, would then be eligible for temporary work under the temporary worker program, and then over time be eligible for green card status and citizenship. This amendment would destroy that compromise. ... I would remind my colleagues of what happened not long ago in France. There were thousands of young Muslims who were burning cars everywhere and rioting and demonstrating because they had no hope and no opportunity. Why is it that all over Europe you find these enclaves of foreign workers who are totally and completely separate from society? Because they are in the situation which this amendment would dictate: No hope, no job, no opportunity, no future, but we will let you work.

McCain's premise is that those angry people in France would be happy, if only they could become French citizens.

Keeping the Senate in perspective, Senator Sessions had this to say his conclusion yesterday:

The fact is, we are not going to be able to vote on this [Chain-migration amendment]. We will be lucky to get a vote on one of them, and then this [entire bill]will be voted on. I assume it will be passed and sent to the House of Representatives. If we are fortunate, the House of Representatives will say it has to be better; we will not accept it; we are going to insist on that before we pass it.

Who knows what will happen in the political processes of our country?

I can answer that last one. An inexorable march toward more government, collectivism, globalism and group identity; away from defending individual rights; while uttering, in an Orwellian fashion, "diversity, tolerance and freedom."

UPDATE @ 10:05 - Senator Specter opens the session, noting that all 1st degree amendments must be filed by 2:30 today and that debate will be on Feinstein's orange card amendment. He notes 17 roll call votes (11 GOP, 6 DEM), 8 voice votes (4 each), debate was of a high caliber, thanks Reid for his cooperation, and thinks the Senate is poised to complete action on this bill this week.

He notes the tension that surrounds the 12 million illegal residents, and that we don't want to create a fugitive class. He asserts that the 12 million represent a net positive for the country, and reiterates his "this is not amnesty" speech.

Senator Specter says that the Inhofe and Salazar "English" amendments weren't much different. Different? The question is, are they COMPATIBLE. Specter goes through the list of amendments, and describes how they were disposed of. With regard to the Feinstein amendment, he indicates the same fear that McCain expressed, that it would fracture the coalition formed by the Hagel/Martinez compromise. He therefor opposes it, because it would admit people who have been in the country since January 1, 2006. January 7, 2004, on the other hand, is an okay cut-off date, because people had constructive notice in the form of President Bush's speech that first proposed a guest worker program.

Second, new immigration laws should serve the economic needs of our country. If an American employer is offering a job that American citizens are not willing to take, we ought to welcome into our country a person who will fill that job.

Third, we should not give unfair rewards to illegal immigrants in the citizenship process or disadvantage those who came here lawfully, or hope to do so.

Fourth, new laws should provide incentives for temporary, foreign workers to return permanently to their home countries after their period of work in the United States has expired. ...

Undocumented workers now here will be required to pay a one-time fee to register for the temporary worker program. Those who seek to join the program from abroad, and have complied with our immigration laws, will not have to pay any fee. All participants will be issued a temporary worker card that will allow them to travel back and forth between their home and the United States without fear of being denied re-entry into our country. ...

Some temporary workers will make the decision to pursue American citizenship. Those who make this choice will be allowed to apply in the normal way. They will not be given unfair advantage over people who have followed legal procedures from the start. I oppose amnesty, placing undocumented workers on the automatic path to citizenship. Granting amnesty encourages the violation of our laws, and perpetuates illegal immigration. America is a welcoming country, but citizenship must not be the automatic reward for violating the laws of America.

"Unfair advantage" is the subject of disagreement. President Bush says that paying a fine removes the "automatic" aspect, and also the sense of amnesty. Then too, some sort of "back of the line" hocus pocus results in the revision being "fair," or "not giving unfair advantage." I bet the people who have adhered to our immigration laws see an unfair advantage - but hey, they must be idiots if they don't agree with President Bush, John McCain, Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter.

UPDATE @ 10:30 - Senator Harkin indicates support for the DiFi amendment, as did Kennedy. I think, given those testimonials of support, the DiFi amendment is destined to be rejected.

I was pointed to this great article by Tim Kane of The Heritage Foundation (READ IT! That's an order), hat tip to John Derbyshire at National Review Online for the link and suggestion.

A smart reform bill would reject the false choice of treating guest workers as (A) felons or (B) citizens. Principled reform would simply give illegal immigrants a chance to become legal, identifiable, temporary workers. This would not preclude them from applying for citizenship; rather it would treat them the same as other hopeful applicants living abroad. No reform should preclude temporary workers from pursuing assimilation or citizenship; their status simply shouldn't guarantee them citizenship.

Senator Brownback rises to indicate that the Senate is making great progress, and has been working well toward building toward a vote that passes S.2611. He opposes the Feinstein amendment, noting that the "delicate compromise" forged by Hagel/Martinez is necessary to pass the bill, at the end.

UPDATE @ 11:30 - Martinez indicated his objection to the amendment. DiFi added Durbin and Obama as co-sponsors. Senator Specter indicates that the Feinstein amendment would make things more difficult to resolve in conference with the House, beside undoing the coalition in the Senate that is apt to facilitate passing S.2611 as Hagel/Martinez. I reduce his objection to the point at which the line is drawn - I wonder whether or not Senator Specter would support the DiFi amendment if it draw the "return home, then apply" line at January 7, 2004 instead of January 1, 2006.

S.Amdt.4087 - Feinstein: to establish an orange card program that would put all illegal immigrants in country since January 1, 2006 on a path to permanent residency and citizenship, and would remove the 3-tier system of Hagel/Martinez, was REJECTED on a 37 - 61 vote.

UPDATE @ 12:10 - The Senate, stunned by it's own rejection of DiFi's amendment, lapses into a quorum call. Lunch break will come at 12:30, I think, until 14:15, I'm sure. Meanwhile, another juicy nugget courtesy of National Review Online, this one pointing to Waging War on Unskilled Labor by Hans Bader.

... the guest worker program is destined to generate massive amounts of bureaucratic red tape, because of its "prevailing wage" provisions.

Under the Davis-Bacon Act, federal construction contractors have to pay the "prevailing wage" to their employees. Bureaucrats at the Department of Labor set the "prevailing wage" by job category, typically using the higher, union wage if at least 30 percent of employees in a job category are unionized. The result is that a Philadelphia electrician who is willing to work for $16 an hour instead gets the prevailing union wage of $38 an hour. Taxpayers pay several billion dollars a year more as a result. ...

The Senate immigration bill for the first time extends Davis-Bacon's "prevailing wage" requirements far beyond federal contracts to all private sector jobs, not just construction jobs, performed by guest workers.

I give the Senate Democrats points for chutzpah, and the Republicans demerits for conveniently forgetting to overtly and vociferously reject the point.

Kate O'Beirne makes sense of Obama's amendment, S.Amdt.3971 - passed on May 17, where I didn't clearly understand, and overlooked the significance of it.

... an amendment by Senator Barack Obama, approved by voice vote, extended Davis-Bacon wages rates to all private work performed by guest workers, even if their occupations are not covered by Davis-Bacon.

UPDATE @ 12:19 - On unanimous consent, requested by Senator Reid, the Senate started its recess 11 minutes early, and stands in recess until 14:15. Me too (maybe).

UPDATE @ 12:30 - No break for me, until the designated time. Regarding the need for immigration in order to provide an influx of workers to feed the Social Security machine while baby boomers retire, Mark Krikorian at NRO points to studies that indicate immigration at the proposed levels doesn't help fix the Social Security system.


Judiciary Committee Happenings

On may 18, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a markup of a proposed marriage amendment, S.J.Res. 1. Senator Feingold objected to the process, and didn't show up -- "refused to help make a quorum" in his words. Senator Leahy objected to taking this up too, but as a matter of misplaced priorities. Senator Leahy is also vigorously opposed to a marriage amendment. So am I - but not for the same reasons that Senator Leahy holds.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet today to discuss revisions to Patent law, Post-Grant Review Procedures. I wish they'd tackle business methods and software patents.

Judicial nominations are to be taken up tomorrow, and perhaps some nominations will move out of Committee -- none of the contentious ones, of that I'm sure.

On Thursday, the Committee is scheduled to take up "The Consequences of Legalized Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia". No list of witnesses or more fully detailed agenda has been provided. I think the Schiavo case was decided incorrectly at several levels of the legal process. I also think society (meaning the prevailing morality) and the legal system are beyond repair in this regard.


Ed Whelan on the pending nomination of Judge Boyle, asks "Are Senate Republicans really going to permit these minor ethics allegations to disrupt his nomination?" I think so. This snip from confirmthem.com refers to a report of Senator Collins' serious concerns - serious concerns that are going unanswered. And Senator Frist's comments yesterday stick in my head. "We have several important nominations that are available, or soon will be available, after committee action for the full Senate to consider. The Kavanaugh nomination is on the Executive Calendar and will be voted on this week. Other nominations are in committee and will become available."

I take that as avoiding the mention by name, of certain unmentionables. Boyle being one. I bet Senator Frist wishes he hadn't said he planned to bring Boyle up for a vote -- especially since Boyle has been on the Executive Calendar since June 16, 2005, and responsibility for the inaction is reasonably laid at Senator Frist's feet. The name of "Myers" fell into Frist's memory hole immediately after May 23rd, 2005, when Senator Frist said:

Henry Saad has waited for 3 years and 6 months for the same courtesy. Henry Saad deserves a vote. It is not in this agreement. William Myers has waited for 2 years and 1 week for a fair up-or-down vote. He deserves a vote but is not in this agreement. If Owen, Pryor, and Brown can receive the courtesy and respect of a fair up-or-down vote, so can Myers and Saad.

Senators Crapo and Craig raised the name, Myers, in a brief exchange on March 28, 2006, Mr. CRAPO. "Mr. President, I rise today to note that it has now been more than one full year that the nomination of William Myers to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has been pending on the Senate Calendar."

UPDATE @ 15:00 - Senator Specter rises at about 5 minutes to 3:00, only to give 10 minutes of time to Senator Reed. I'm itching to drift away from paying attention, and would like to have a rough outline of which amendments will be taken up over the course of the day. The deadline for filing 1st degree amendments has passed, I assume Senator Sessions has submitted the four that he described yesterday.

UPDATE @ 15:55 - Lots of quorum call time. The Senators are not having an easy go of negotiating amendments and time agreements. I wonder if Senator Landrieu is mixed up in this, seeing as how she was cut off her adamant wish from last week Thursday, to have her amendments brought up for vote. Senator Specter makes a UC request for proceeding as follows:

  • S.Amdt.4117 - Leahy: Waiver of immigration rules for some applicants (20 minutes equally divided, followed by a motion to table)
  • S.Amdt.4177 - Grassley: Title III provisions, employment verification system (20 minutes to Cornyn, 5 for Kennedy, 5 for for Obama, 5 for Kyl, and 10 for Specter)
  • S.Amdt.4106 - Kennedy: Adjustments to worker safety and to collective bargaining relating to unfair labor practices
  • S.Amdt.4142 - Durbin: humanitarian waiver, if deportation would cause extreme hardship on a member of immediate family, only for violations that are created by this bill
  • S.Amdt.4036 - Lieberman: a person seeking asylum from persecution (under convention on Torture) shall not be prosecuted for immigration violation until their asylum situation has been adjudicated and denied (no time limit set for debate)
  • S.Amdt.4085 - McConnell:
  • S.Amdt.4114 - :
  • S.Amdt.4101 - Hutchison: SAFE visa to each alien who is a national of a NAFTA or CAFTA-DR country, 200,000 per fiscal year, or more if the president certifies that additional foreign workers are needed in that fiscal year
  • S.Amdt.4124 - :
  • S.Amdt.4084 - Chambliss: Earned status adjustment for agricultural workers, "blue card" program for up to 1.5 million immigrants in 5 years
  • S.Amdt.4097 - Cornyn: Information provided by applicants to be considered for a visa must be kept in confidence (by the government), subject to the penalty of a fine
  • S.Amdt.4108 - :
  • S.Amdt.4134 - :
With Dem amendments alternating with the GOP amendments listed above. At any time in the course of the proceedings, consider a managers' amendment. Senator Kennedy indicates that he will provide the DEM amendment numbers shortly, by the end of the day.

My intention is to update the above list as facts filter in. The last amendment for which text is available is Nr. 4107.

UPDATE @ 16:00 - Senator Specter indicates a series of stacked votes as soon as possible after 5:30 PM, which would probably accommodate the Leahy, Grassley and Lieberman amendments.

Senator Grassley thinks people who lose their jobs due to a mistake by a federal bureaucrat should be made whole, that is, if the record of employment is incorrect on the fault of the government, and the job is lost due to that, that the government be liable. Cornyn is concerned that the process described leads to too much incentive to litigate.

A good read, pithy almost ...

Federalist Society Q&A on Immigration

UPDATE @ 15:40 - Series of stacked votes is Leahy (visa qualification waiver), Grassley (employment verification system), Kennedy (revision to collective bargaining rights), and Durbin (deportation waiver if deportation would result in extreme hardship for left behind family members), with two minutes equally divided before each vote.

Predictions (just for fun): Leahy amendment will be tabled, Grassley, Kennedy and Durbin amendments will be rejected.

Three out of four. Grassley's passed.

S.Amdt.4117 - Leahy: Waiver of immigration rules for some applicants, was TABLED on a 79 - 19 vote.
GOP Nay votes: Chafee, Coleman, Sununu

S.Amdt.4177 - Grassley: Title III provisions, mandatory electronic employment verification system, was PASSED on a 58 - 40 vote.
GOP Aye votes: Chafee, Collins, DeWine, Graham, Grassley, Gregg, Hagel, Lugar, McCain, Snowe, Specter, Stevens and Warner Smith changed his vote to Aye on May 24
DEM Nay votes: Dorgan and Nelson (NE)

S.Amdt.4106 - Kennedy: Adjustments to worker safety and to collective bargaining relating to unfair labor practices, was TABLED on a 56 - 41 vote.

S.Amdt.4142 - Durbin: humanitarian waiver, if deportation would cause extreme hardship on a member of immediate family, only for violations that are created by this bill, was TABLED on a 63 - 34 vote.

Senator Specter laid out a schedule for tomorrow morning, as follows:

  • 08:30 - Senate opens on S.2611
  • S.Amdt.4085 - McConnell: debate until 9:30 equally divided
  • 09:30 - Vote on S.Amdt.4085
  • 10:00 - Cloture vote (Kavanaugh? or S.2611)
Senators Craig, Shelby and Landrieu to speak. Shelby for 8 minutes, Craig for 8 minutes, then Landrieu. Good, because I am quite curious about Landrieu's wish list.

Senator Shelby is speaking out against S.2611 - he's against amnesty, he is for border security first, he is opposed to people now here illegally being put on a path to citizenship, people here the longest are treated the best, people here 2-5 years are treated better than those following the law now ... he has a succinct list of twelve reasons for his opposition.

Senator Craig speaks on the breach of security at the VA, where names, birthdays and SSNs were lifted. Constituents wonder what's to be done? Well duh, don't expect the government to keep your personal information secure. Plan accordingly. Senator Craig's proposed "solution" is training of government workers, and a system of checks and balances.

Senator Landrieu changes the subject (as she is wont to do) from immigration to the start of hurricane season, and (I can see it coming), a request for more money. With regard to the debate on the immigration bill she says the Senate has spent "an inordinate and appropriate amount of time." My cheap dictionary says that "inordinate" means "1. Immoderate; unrestrained. 2. not regulated; disorderly."

She ties her begathon to her assertion of $150 billion loss due to hurricanes, plus the fear factor that Louisiana has the largest "energy coast" in the nation -- she says that an investment is required for energy security, and in particular to restore wetlands. "An underinvestment over time that borders on the criminal." Oh, how I wish I could be there to slowly turn her anger-crank.

She's angry because her state produces energy and can sell it at a profit? Sheesh. Other states are certainly net consumers - just like the US consumes more than it produces, and the countries that have an excess of the resource (Iraq, Russia, Saudi Arabia, etc.) over their internal usage have an opportunity to sell the surplus at a profit. She may have a point, but I sure don't see it - her argument is wandering all over the place. Says the people of Louisiana will stay there and work, even if they don't get the federal assistance. That's all I needed to hear.

Oh - she was after opening area 181, off the Florida coast, for exploration, extraction, and other energy-related activity. She says the objections heard from Florida relate to preservation of tourism and beaches, but my recollection is that another objection relates to preserving that space for military training flights and similar activity. More to come, no doubt.

UPDATE @ 20:10 - Senator Frist closes. Talks a bit about the life of Lloyd Benson. Closing comments:

Senator Sessions making another speech against S.2611, noting that some of the "mistakes" in the bill are deliberate deceptions. Says people (and Senators) should be disturbed and unhappy with this bill, and it should never, ever become law. The amendment he will be offering will be the one relating to the earned income tax credit of the proposed bill. CBO calculates a 29 billion dollar EITC payout over the next 10 years if this bill passes.