Last Thursday, House Republican leaders set 5 new hearings on the proposed immigration reform with the hope of sending a
border security bill to President George Bush before the year ends. Speaker Dennis Haster (Illinois) said that the Congress wanted to review and process the bill the right way instead of rushing it. During a meeting with reporters, Haster along with some senior House Republicans called the senate bill as "Reid-Kennedy" bill in reference to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (Nevada) and liberal democrat Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts).
It must be noted that both Kennedy and Republican Senator
John McCain (Arizona) were the primary architects of the immigration bill. It was later called as Hagel-Martinez bill after Republican Senators Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) and Mel Martinez (Florida) came up with a compromise that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay while it would make the others leave the nation. Meanwhile, President Bush has supported the provision that would let illegal immigrants stay and legalize their status.
Last Thursday, the Congress held 2 hearings, one concerning non-citizens voting during the elections and the other concerning on the oversight of the Department of Labor on high-tech employees in the United States under temporary visas.
