http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...sj_share_tweet
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...,7503326.story
It is good to see the President involved but how he can influence/hasten the process is unclear as the following section of the article suggests-
"Obama’s time frame may be tough for senators to reach. U.S. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the judiciary committee, already has cast doubt on the chances of getting a bill through his committee by the end of April. Even if the bill comes to the floor next month a vote would not necessarily follow quickly. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he plans to let senators debate the legislation at length, and there remains no clear path for the bill through the Republican-led House.
http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/201...on-reform.html
AFL-CIO in action...
If you see the video, I think he's just managing expectations of the Hispanic/Latino community who are likely expecting a speedier path to citizenship. It's up to the President now to resolve the AFL-CIO issue I think. Considering he's made CIR such a big part of his second term, I don't think he can just back off at this point and blame it on big business or the unions.
Here's Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot's explanation of what's going on behind the scenes in the Senate Gang of Eight negotiations on how to structure a new worker visa program for less-skilled immigrants.
http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-bi...B-5C5259E4C356
Nice summary on what to expect on high skill immigration
http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/arti...es-future-hold
Some hope here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...ge&ir=homepage
But they're at odds over key issues. The Senate group wants the citizenship pathway to be contingent on securing the border, something Obama opposes. The president has also sidestepped the contentious guest-worker issue, which contributed to derailing immigration talks in 2007.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO have reached significant agreements on a new visa program that would bring up to 200,000 lower-skilled workers to the country each year. But they reached a stalemate Friday over wages for the workers, with the labor union pushing for higher wages than the chamber has agreed to so far.
Since then, talks have resumed and negotiators are "back on the right track," Ana Avendano, a lead AFL-CIO negotiator, said Wednesday.
Avendano declined to offer specifics but said the chamber had moved off what she termed its insistence on "poverty-level wages" for the new workers.
"We're very hopeful that we're moving," Avendano told reporters after a briefing for congressional staff on temporary-worker programs.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/nationa...-summer/nW52Q/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...92Q17Z20130327
A couple more weeks, folks, and all will be revealed! Hope springs eternal.
BTW, I don't get thread reply notifications anymore unfortunately. Not sure why. I've tried unsubscribing and resubscribing but it doesn't work. They stopped working after Q banned me for a week...
""We hope to have a bill agreed to and done .. the day we come back," he said."
By this, it looks like bill will be introduced on 8th April. Other links suggest that Leahy will fast track the committee process and bill will be out of the committee in 1-2 weeks. If all of this comes true, bill will be on the senate floor in next month.
To rupen86/Cleansock
A lot of the letter is trash talk and pure bluster.Senators have egos larger than Mt.Everest and do not like to be told what to do.Much as I would love the time-frame you have mentioned, the actual reporting will take a lot longer. Not all of the GOP or the Democratic Senators are sold on the idea of legalizing 11-12 million people. Cloture is hard to achieve if the Senate perception is that the Bill was rushed without due process. Unlike the Healthcare Law, the Democrats still need GOP support to reach the 60 vote threshold. Please see the following links
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/0...-family-unity#
Their votes are crucial for passage of the Bill and although in the end they may vote for it-time and attention will need to be given to address their concerns.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/27/se...igration-rush/
Sen. Rubio has also mentioned that he will ensure due process is given to the Bill. This is a momentous peace of legislation and I hope everybody's concerns are addressed before any Senate Floor vote. A defeat on the cloture motion would weaken the Democrats' hand significantly
abcx - I can't thank you enough for raising this.... I myself am wondering why I was not getting any notifications whatsoever!! Now I know.... something is wrong here ... nobody is probably getting them.... let me investigate and see what I can do about.
p.s. - Alright I think I fixed it. 2 months back when Spec and I were dealing with some serious spam we stopped all emailing. Little did I know that this would stop ALL emails including subscription emails. So I have now started those emails. Hope this solves the problem. From your side please do following:
1. Subscribe to threads of your interest.
2. Check your spam folder - just in case subscription email goes to spam folder.
3. Let me know if you are still not receiving emails.
Thanks again!
If cloture is failed, meaning there are not 60 votes, we can not expect it to pass the house. My feeling is that there are more than 60 votes and as high as 80 as Schumer had said earlier. We can not expect this to pass with simple vote as it only requires one senator to put hold and you can not satisfy everybody.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2963491.html
It is interesting to note that the House leadership has said that they would like to work on legislation of their own and reconcile with a Senate version in conference. Yet the focus or urgency seems to be lacking unlike in the Senate. I know that they keep saying they are close but it is believed that the same group has been working for 4 years on this legislation but still needs more weeks to actually producing a package
To abcx13
I get notifications now too although I had forgotten that they existed to begin with. Sorry for the duplicate posting and please continue your good work
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...a60_story.html
Published today but I'm not sure whether there is new info or this is just a delayed recap of everything that has happened since last week.
A small piece of advise based on what I saw happen in 2007: If you think your House Rep or Senator needs coaxing on immigration then now is the time to act. Call them now, meet their handlers, and field representatives in their office now. Once the bill becomes public, it is too late. Everybody by then will have firm positions on various parts of the bill and they will do horse trading. If you give me what I want I will vote for what you want etc. They will not listen to constituents. It is too late then to persuade them.
Insist on telling YOUR story. Not matter what the overall bill does, it MUST address YOUR concern even if they do not like the bill.
On a funny note.
When they say they are close means.
They are almost reaching the target which they are supposed to have as lobbying money!! (it is legal, but it is Bribe indeed).
Legal immigrants are punished without any mercy.. just for their selfish vote needs. We are held as hostages to give Illegals a path to
citizenship.
This is one of the proposal as per below White house site.
•Cut Red Tape for Employers. The proposal also eliminates the backlog for employment-sponsored immigration by eliminating annual country caps and adding additional visas to the system. Outdated legal immigration programs are reformed to meet current and future demands by exempting certain categories from annual visa limitations.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-...ne-plays-rules
If the CIR fails if The White house have the political will to make the above link as executive order.. Then something will happen. Otherwise no need to wait for this big immigration drama again.
Latest on Labor-Business standoff.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...92R11820130328
More on labor-business......
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/us...ants.html?_r=0
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...orker-program/