11/16/2005 IMMIGRATION ALERT:
LEGISLATION UPDATE: HEARINGS CONTINUE ON IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS
 

Congress is still considering immigration legislation as part of its Budget Reconciliation Bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee has already passed the bill by a wide margin. HLG remains optimistic that this bill will pass Congressional review and be signed by President Bush. If passed, both the H-1 and Green Card caps will be increased. (For details on the specific immigration provisions in the Senate version, see http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/10.18.2005_alert.htm). The House was originally scheduled to vote on its version of the budget reconciliation bill last Thursday (November 10th) but postponed the hearings until this week. The postponement did not have to do with the immigration provisions.

If the House passes its budget reconciliation proposal, the next step will be for both the House and the Senate to go into conference to resolve the differences between their two bills and draft a uniform bill. Below is a list of the leaders in the House and Senate who will play a vital role in the uniform bill. If you are in one of their areas, we request that you contact them and urge them to support the immigration relief provisions.

LEADERS IN THE HOUSE:

Dennis Hastert (R-IL) -- Speaker of the House

Roy Blunt (R-MO) -- Majority Leader

Deborah Pryce (R-OH) -- Republican Conference Chair

Jim Nussle (R-IA) -- Chair of Budget Committee Chair

Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) -- Chair of Judiciary Committee

Lamar Smith (R-TX) -- Senior Member of the Judiciary Committee

LEADERS IN THE SENATE:

Bill Frist (R-TN) -- Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell (R-KY) -- Majority Whip

Jon Kyl (R-AZ) -- Republican Policy Committee Chair

Arlen Specter (R-PA) -- Chair of the Judiciary Committee

Judd Gregg (R-NH) -- Chair of the Budget Committee

You can contact members of the Congress by phone through the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 or through AILA’s advocacy program at:http://capwiz.com/aila2/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8185761.
 

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