Tuesday, June 19, 2007

In Search of 22: The Amendment List So Far....:The Washington Post has a list of some of the amendments being offered in the 22-amendment "package" that will be debated in the Senate. The official list is confidential and still, it seems, being revised, but here are the amendments according to AP sources:

Under the plan, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., would get a vote on his plan to bar illegal immigrants from getting green cards.

Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia would see consideration of his amendment to limit legalization to certain unlawful immigrants who have been in the U.S. four years or more.

Also making the list is an amendment by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that would bar illegal immigrants from collecting Social Security benefits for work done while they were in the U.S. unlawfully.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, one of only 11 Democrats who voted against expediting final action on the bill, would get a vote on her amendment to reduce the number of temporary workers admitted to the U.S. based on how many guest laborers overstayed their visas.

_An amendment by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to mandate that all illegal immigrants return home within two years to gain lawful status. The bill only requires those seeking green cards to do so.

_A proposal by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to increase the number of points under a new merit-based green card allocation system that could be awarded for being related to a U.S. citizen or green card holder.

_An amendment by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., to condition any legal status for unlawful immigrants on the measure's border security and workplace enforcement measures. The bill would instead allow such immigrants to get probationary legal status while those so-called "triggers" were being met.

_A proposal by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to increase penalties on employers who repeatedly hire illegal immigrants.

_An amendment by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to replace the employment verification system with a less-burdensome alternative.

_An amendment by Montana's Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, who opposed moving to a final vote on the bill, to remove requirements that workers present "REAL ID" driver's license to prospective employers.

_An amendment by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., to let law enforcement agencies share information about people's immigration status.

_An amendment by Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, the sole Independent to oppose the June 7 test vote, to bar companies that have had mass layoffs from hiring foreign high-tech workers.

Also, through NYT/CQ, two other amendments being offered:

Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., has an amendment that would more than double the number of green cards issued annually to parents of U.S. citizens, increasing the cap from 40,000 to 90,000.

Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has proposed an amendment that would ban employers from hiring guest workers for a year if they fail to post those positions with state employment agencies. The provision would require an employer to post the opening with such an agency 90 days before an application for a foreign worker is filed and for a period of one year after.

So that makes 14 so far....and the others?