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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (20563)	6/14/2007 9:36:29 PM
From: Mr. Palau	Respond to of 71588

big win for gw "Immigration bill will come back to Senate, leaders say WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Democratic and GOP leaders and the key architects of a comprehensive immigration reform bill reached a deal to revive the bill Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled the bill from the floor last week after most Republicans balked at cutting off further amendments and moving forward toward a vote. The Democratic leader said he was willing to revive the bill if it was clear that there is enough Republican support to move the bill forward. But Senate GOP and Democratic leaders tell CNN the bill -- which would grant millions of illegal immigrants legal status -- will again be debated on the Senate floor. Negotiations lasted most of Thursday resulting in a tentative agreement on the number and scope of amendments that will be offered when the bill comes back before the Senate. Senators and aides familiar with the deal said it will allow for consideration of about 20 amendments. After negotiators reached an tentative deal, Reid and Senate Minority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, met to finalize the details with a group of senators who have been working on the bill, including Democrats Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Dick Durbin of Illinois. Thursday's breakthrough came just hours after President Bush threw his support behind an amendment that would provide an additional $4.4 billion for border security and work site immigration enforcement. The amendment is a bid to answer concerns from some GOP critics that the security aspects of the bill weren't tough enough. "We're going to show the American people that the promises in this bill will be kept," Bush said. In addition to beefing up border security and increasing the number of Border Patrol agents, the immigration measure would create a guest worker program, which would allow migrant workers from other countries to work temporarily in the Untied States. The most controversial aspect of the bill is the creation of a pathway to legalization and eventual citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country, an idea which critics dismiss as "amnesty." But Bush, speaking Thursday to the Associated Builders and Contractors -- a group whose members rely on immigrant labor -- insisted once again that the bill's pathway to legalization is not amnesty. "Amnesty is forgiveness with no penalty for people who have broken our laws to get here," he said. "This bill requires illegal workers to pay a fine to register with the government, to undergo background checks, to pay their back taxes, to hold down a stead job and to learn English in a set period of time." Bush also said some opponents of the bill seem to "believe that we could just kick (illegal immigrants) out of the country." "That's just totally impractical. It won't work," Bush said.