THE HILL (Washington, D.C.) July 19, 2006
Immigration deepens House-Senate GOP divide
House Republicans are divided over the question of whether enactment of an immigration law this year is an electoral imperative, but they remain committed — at least for the time being — to bashing their Senate counterparts on the contentious topic. Like many of his fellow Republicans, Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska says he would like to see an agreement between the chambers on the House priority of enforcing the border, but he has heard colleagues say Republicans are best served if they “just hang the Senate bill up like a piñata and beat it until the election.” “That’s the fine line that we’re trying to figure out,” he said. House Republicans are clearly upset that their Senate allies are not bending to their will as the election approaches. They believe the answer is simple: enact a law containing border-enforcement measures that can win broad support in both chambers and come back to other issues later. The House vitriol on immigration illuminates the divergent needs of House Republicans — all of whom face reelection this year — and Senate Republicans, most of whom do not. That dynamic has been a threat to most major legislation this year — as it is in most election years — but most issues have not been as prominent and divisive as immigration. “There is a huge level of frustration and a sense that we do want to do something before the election,” said Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.). But, he said, he does not want to enact legislation just for the sake of touting an achievement. “Nothing would be better than something bad,” he said. As they weigh their options, House Republicans have issued two dozen “Border Security Bulletins” in the past two weeks to promote their border-focused immigration bill and slam the Senate version, which includes a process for immigrants who are in the country illegally now to become citizens and an expanded guest-worker program. They plan to hold several more hearings designed to undercut the three-pronged overhaul endorsed by the Senate. “We think we’re right where people expect House Republicans to be,” Ron Bonjean, spokesman for Speaker Dennis Hastert, said yesterday. “We have to see where we’re at” after the hearings. There has been little discernible movement, and neither chamber has appointed official negotiators yet. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) noted that the hearings will raise the issue’s profile before the election, adding to the pressure to enact a law. “I’m in the camp that thinks we need to get something done,” Ryan said. “It has to be the right thing,” stressed Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.). In the meantime, House Republicans have taken to calling the Senate measure the Reid-Kennedy bill — hanging it on two Democratic supporters, though the top Republican leaders in the Senate, Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) and Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (Ky.), both voted for it. It is not surprising that the House and Senate are increasingly focused on their own perceived needs in an election year. The dynamic was evident earlier this year when House and Senate budget writers made no visible effort to reconcile their differences. They also are expected to put off negotiations over most of the annual appropriations bills until after the year, underscoring the division between the chambers over domestic spending levels. But the level of discord over immigration supercedes any other House-Senate differences. Talk in GOP conference meetings quickly turns to the immigration impasse, “no matter what the [previous] topic,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) said Senate GOP leaders are working to improve communication between the chambers. “If you don’t talk, if you don’t communicate, it will expand” to other issues, he said. It is important for Republicans to “remember that we’re on the same team,” Ensign said. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said GOP lawmakers are best served by enacting laws, not passing them through one chamber and criticizing the other. “We’re here to do public policy, and that means getting it through both bodies,” he said.
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