This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

S. 477 requires Grassroots action today!

Monday (6/24) the U.S. Senate voted 67-27 to limit debate and amendments on the Corker-Hoeven amendment to the S. 744 amnesty bill.

That means the 1,100+ page bill, as amended by 119 pages of amendments, can come to a vote as early as Wednesday morning. The final cloture vote (requiring 60 votes) on the whole bill could be as early as Thursday morning.

Shortly after the vote was finalized on the floor of the U.S. Senate on,  I joined a National Tele-TownHall call with Sens. Cruz, Sessions, and Vetter. These three senators, along with Senator Mike Lee, Charles Grassley, and John Coynyn, have invested much time in trying to defeat the legislation, taking many slings and arrows in the process. After each of the three featured senators spoke (Cruz, Vetter, and Session) there was an opportunity for the participants to ask question.

Emphasized by each senator is that grassroots action is now needed against a bill that was created in a backroom without the presence of transparency or accountability.  This week was called "ground zero."  Reported is that there could be as many as 20 Republican senators and Red State Democrats on the fence whose minds could be changed with a flood of phone calls.

Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A common thread was that border security in the bill is only a maybe to happen sometime in the future, if ever.  The bill represents the same deal as in 1986 when the promised border security never was honored but 3 million received amnesty.  Now the figure is estimated at 11 million.  Future enforcement rests on the whim of Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, who will decide what security is really necessary after the bill is passed.  Senator Sessions described the promises made by the sponsors of the bill as being filled with more holes than Swiss cheese.

Then there was the length of the bill being considered that remained unread by the senators.  Senator Sessions described the bill as basically unreadable.  How many outrageous exceptions, etc., are tucked away within H 477 that will be revealed piece by piece to be discovered if and when the H 477 is given Senate approval?

Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Revealed by Senator Cruz was a troubling aspect of the bill that would operate in tandem with Obamacare.  It represents defacto affirmative action for those who are here illegally by exempting them from Obamacare. This means that those receiving RPI permits are given preference for hiring over American citizens and those immigrants who have followed the rules.  In that an illegal immigrant can be hired for $5,000 less than a U.S. citizen, every illegal alien is given a $5,000 Obamacare advantage. 

When a question was posed to Senator Vetter as to how many Republican senators would put their personal fortunes on the line to say that S. 744 would solve the immigration problem, Vetter responded, "You wouldn't find one senator to put a plum nickle on the line."  Furthermore, "The proponents of the bill, i.e., Senator Schumer, know that the security aspect won't be enforced, but passing the bill has become an overriding political objective."  Schumerwon't accept any bill that doesn't include a pathway to citizenship.  Noted was how in the past week if an amendment was offered that did little to alter the bill, it was accepted.  All amendments were defeated if fashioned to deal with border security first and foremost.

H-1B visas were discussed and the impact they have on college graduates. Several professors were quoted as doing studies which told of American college graduates having difficulty finding jobs in fields where individuals from abroad can be hired for less.  Although it is thought that people with education become assets to this nation, entertained was how many people can this nation accept who do have some education without harming qualified American graduates?  Too many will result in the depression of wages, resulting in  less young people here in America electing to study engineering, etc. 

This nation's exit-entrance system was described as deplorable.  This could be fixed with very little money if there was the will to do so.  S. 477 does not fix this egregious situation.  There is still no way to identify those who overstay their visas.

S. 477 can rightly be called a betrayal of the law in America.  Make your voice be heard.  The senators works for you and me, not to give Republican senators the power to appease lobbyists and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce who care only about a continuous cheap source of labor and Democrats the ability to increase their voter base so their party can control the election process for years to come. 

Isn't this a democracy where two sides must function to keep this nation from turning into a fascist state?  We can make a difference!  

Call the Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044) to thank those that voted "No" on S. 477:

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL) 

Boozman (R-AR)

Grassley (R-IA)
ID Crapo (R-ID)
ID Risch (R-ID)

Coats (R-IN)
KS Moran (R-KS)
KS Roberts (R-KS)

McConnell (R-KY)
KY Paul (R-KY)
LA Vitter (R-LA)
MO Blunt (R-MO)

Cochran (R-MS)
NC Burr (R-NC)
NE Fischer (R-NE)

Johanns (R-NE)
OH Portman (R-OH)
OK Coburn (R-OK)

Inhofe (R-OK)
PA Toomey (R-PA)
SC Scott (R-SC)

SD Thune (R-SD)
TX Cornyn (R-TX)
TX Cruz (R-TX)

Johnson (R-WI)
WY Barrasso (R-WY)

Call these Republicans who voted to keep Amnesty alive and request them to vote against S. 477: 

Murkowski (R-AK)
AZ Flake (R-AZ)
AZ McCain (R-AZ)

Rubio (R-FL)
IL Kirk (R-IL)
ME Collins (R-ME)
MS Wicker (R-MS)
ND Hoeven (R-ND)
NH Ayotte (R-NH)

NJ Chiesa (R-NJ)
NV Heller (R-NV)

Graham (R-SC)
TN Alexander (R-TN)
TN Corker (R-TN)
UT Hatch (R-UT)

All Senate Democrats supported the bill, including Illinois' US Senator Dick Durbin, one of the Gang of Eight.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 08:15 AM | Permalink


We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?