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Bush, Reid Trade Blame on Immigration Bill

Posted on: Friday, 14 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Gebe Martinez, Houston Chronicle

Apr. 14--WASHINGTON -- President Bush and the Senate's top Democrat blamed each other Thursday for a legislative deadlock on immigration that threatens to kill a bipartisan compromise that both men favor.

Instead of heeding the advice of the backers of a Senate bill and staying above the fray, Bush escalated partisan tensions by denouncing Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who has been locked in a bitter dispute with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.

The political skirmishing was not about the bill's substance but rather about who should be blamed for blocking its passage last week.

When Reid refused to consider GOP amendments that he argued would undermine the carefully negotiated immigration reform bill, he was "single-handedly thwarting the will of the American people and impeding bipartisan efforts to secure this border, and make this immigration system of ours more humane and rational," Bush charged during a speech at a small business conference.

Reid shot back: "President Bush has as much credibility on immigration as he does on Iraq and national security."

'Shame on them' The testy exchange frustrated representatives of community, religious and business groups who are trying to save the Senate bill. The proposal includes border security provisions and a path to U.S. citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

"It's disgusting to us," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.

He and other immigration advocates attended a private White House meeting Wednesday and advised Bush to play referee and push the bill to final passage.

"There's a bipartisan majority in favor of reform, and there's a president who says he's willing to sign it. And if they cannot figure out how to get from here to there, shame on them," Sharry said.

The Senate measure was on the brink of passage last week when Reid and Frist disagreed about how many amendments could be debated on the Senate floor.

Frist defended the right of Republican opponents of the bill, including Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to offer amendments.

Bush asked to draw line During the White House meeting called by some of Bush's top aides, several of the bill's proponents urged the administration to step up its efforts to sustain momentum for the bill, which faced long odds.

In recent weeks, the president has spoken frequently but ambiguously about what he would like to see in an immigration bill.

Bush has not directly addressed the Senate bill's plan to create a legalization program for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. The idea rankles the GOP's social conservatives, who say it amounts to amnesty.

"Nobody really knows where the White House is," said Grover Norquist, a long-time Bush ally and Republican strategist who favors the Senate's broad approach. He suggested that the sponsors of the competing bills in the House and Senate could agree on a compromise "if the president said something that drew a line in the sand, letting people know that we are going to have a path to citizenship ... and then be tough on criminals and not have them on welfare."

Saving their strength With new polls indicating that Bush's public approval rating was at the lowest level of his presidency, the administration's strategy on the immigration issue has been to delay public discussion of the more contentious details until the House and Senate negotiate the final version of the bill.

"They feel, and I think they are right, that they are going to have their best leverage in conference,"said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank.

Others fear the bill won't leave the Senate unless the president steps in now.

"Unless the president can stop the political rhetoric on both sides, we will not get to conference committee," said Kevin Appleby of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

gebe.martinez@chron.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Houston Chronicle

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Source: Houston Chronicle

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