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     Siloan Megastar Username: Siloan Post Number: 22306 Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 132.174.20.41 Rating: N/A |
CHASING AN EARRING As soon as the bill left the House, it ran smack into Sen. Chuck Grassley. The Iowa Republican almost immediately put a hold on the bill, a procedural maneuver that allows senators to essentially block legislation from being debated on the floor. At 78, Grassleya plainspoken conservative with a penchant for sweater vestshas spent almost half his life in Congress. He supported President Reaganâs 1986 immigration-reform law, which, by giving amnesty to undocumented workers and increasing enforcement and sanctions, was billed as the solution to illegal immigration. Like many Republicans who supported that law, he now feels he was sold a bill of goods. You know what I found out? You reward illegality and you get more of it, Grassley said in his Senate office. So thatâs why I canât be for amnesty again, or somebodyâs going to say, âGrassley, canât you learn from your mistakes?â And I can learn from my mistakes. The Iowan doesnât object in principle to removing per-country green-card quotas. Rather, he wants to use Chaffetzâs bill for his own purposesto reform the guest-worker visa system that companies use to bring high-skilled foreign workers into the country temporarily. The program has problems with fraud: 20 percent of the so-called H-1B visas issued do not meet the lawâs criteria, he said, citing a 2008 Homeland Security Department report. Slots that are supposed to go to individuals with specialized training are instead being used as a gateway for low-skilled workers. Itâs the only immigration bill thatâs going to be around for two years. So if you want to get some reforms, you take every opportunity you can to take an immigration bill and [fix] other things wrong with immigration. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, on the Chaffetz billWith comprehensive immigration reform long dead, Grassley has taken his fight on visa fraud to the only immigration bill moving this yearH.R. 3012. He is not the only one looking to add a little something to the bill. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants to tack on a special visa category for Irish nationals. Schumer is not Irish, but he represents a lot of Ireland partisans. He argues that the Irish have been waiting patiently, like everyone else, for a broad immigration overhaul that would give them more opportunities to come to the U.S. The European country that sent some 3 million immigrants to America after the 1845 potato famine now feels slighted for being left out of special visa categories created under free-trade agreements for others, such as Chile and Singapore. Trying to determine exactly how the popular Chaffetz proposal got mired in this mess is like chasing an earring down a sink drain. To sum up: Grassley says he is willing to lift his hold on H.R. 3012 if Schumer backs off his Irish-visa proposal. Schumer says that Democrats arenât the holdup; itâs actually a Republican, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who shot his mouth off to a bunch of Irish constituents back home, saying that the Irish-visa bill was about to pop. Massachusettswhere Brown expects a tough reelection fightis the hub of the Ireland lobby. Brown says he has not placed a hold on the Chaffetz proposal and supports it in principle. But he also wants the Irish-visa bill to pass, and he wonât say whether he would block the Chaffetz bill if the Irish measure doesnât move with it. Grassley, meanwhile, has offered Schumer a chance for an up-or-down vote on the Irish-visa bill, provided the required skill levels get tweaked and the special-visa program has an end date. Thereâs no word yet on whether Schumer will accept the offer. And so, H.R. 3012 sits. Itâs the only immigration bill thatâs probably going to be around for two years, Grassley said, so if you want to get some reforms, you take every opportunity you can to take an immigration bill and [fix] other things that are wrong with immigration. Grassleyâs tactic is exactly what makes passing small, targeted legislation so tough. Pretty soon, a simple, six-page bill is loaded down with pet projects that make it impossible to pass muster. Iâm only adding one thing, he said. Anybody trying to add anything to any other bill, you know what you call them? U.S. senatorbecause thatâs what the Senateâs all about. No limit on debate. Itâs the deliberating body. Anybody can bring up anything. SOMEBODY ELSEâS PROBLEM The slow walk of the Chaffetz bill in the Senate infuriates leaders in the technology sector, whose companies depend on high-skilled labor. Asked about the legislation, the president of TechNet, which represents the nationâs top tech CEOs, sputtered in frustration. That bill, Rey Ramsey said before pausing and starting over. Iâm trying to calm myself, because itâs just stunning the partisanship and ineffectiveness to be able to move something thatâs so important for the economy. In February, about 40 senior TechNet executives spent a day on Capitol Hill meeting with Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. They left exasperated. When you sum up the CEOsâ sentiments, it was a frustration at fingers being pointed and not a clear-enough glide path for reso-lution, Ramsey said. This is an unacceptable and unsustainable way to do the countryâs business. In meeting after meeting, the tech executives heard Democrats and Republicans blame each other for inaction. In the morning, the group met with about two dozen Senate Democrats. Before greetings could even be exchanged, according to one participant, Majority Leader Harry Reid began attacking Republicans for holding up the Chaffetz bill. Later, Schumer suggested some questions that the executives should put to Republicans. One did, irritating Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who accused Democrats of demagoguing the issue at tech leadersâ afternoon meeting with about a dozen GOP senators. Things didnât go much smoother in the House. In a meeting with Republicans, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Whip Kevin McCarthy of California hit the right talking points on high-skilled immigration, but they did little to convince tech leaders they were serious about reform. Cantor chimed in and said, âThis is an important issue, and thereâs bipartisan agreement, and we want to get something done,â said a tech-industry leader who attended the meeting. It was very much a platitude. In the same meeting, Chaffetz told the executives to go talk to Grassley. It drove home the message from lawmakers: Itâs not our fault. Talk to the other guy. Tech leaders donât understand why House Republicans canât persuade their Senate brethren to pass Chaffetzâs bill. Grassley is holding your damn bill up. Thatâs where the CEOs were incredulous, said another participant in the House GOP meeting. Their frustration is understandable, but it also speaks to a major disconnect between Silicon Valleyâs agile innovators and a politically hamstrung Congress that can barely keep the government afloat. I love them. Theyâre my constituents, said Lofgren of the tech lobby. But their idea is that theyâll fly in some CEOs, spend a day, go back to the valley, and youâll see them again next year. These executives, accustomed to solving problems with the click of a mouse, are strangers in a land where decisions are years in the making and influence is accumulated over decades. Tech leaders know they have to do more to engage Washington, particularly Republicans, who have traditionally enjoyed less political support from the liberal-leaning Silicon Valley than Democrats. TechNet is planning a major valley fundraiser for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky this spring. A major goal of the event will be pressing the Republican leader to urge Grassley to lift his hold on the Chaffetz bill. The organization is also talking to former Hewlett-Packard chief executive and Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina about building stronger relationships with congressional Republicans. The Report quotes Senator Grassley's position: Itâs the only immigration bill thatâs going to be around for two years. So if you want to get some reforms, you take every opportunity you can to take an immigration bill and [fix] other things wrong with immigration. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, on the Chaffetz bill" Hmm.......................................... Readers, you got that? We have reported all along the complexity of lobbying process for this bill in the context of another stakeholder legislation, Irish E-3 visa, strongly glued to the bill in one form or another. Until this logjam is resolved, readers ain't going to see this House bill on the Senate floor soon. |
