News Action Alert

Compromise Intelligence Reform Bill Passes House

By December 9, 2004October 25th, 2018No Comments

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From: Rosita Choy

Extremely brief update regarding the intelligence reform legislation

(also known as the legislation to implement the 9-11 commission report):

Most of the anti-immigrant provisions of Title III of HR 10 were

NOT included. However the following provisions ARE in the compromise

bill:

1. increase in the number of Border Patrol agents by 2,000 agents a

year for each of the next five years

2. increase in the number of Immigration and Custom Enforcement

(ICE) agents by 800 a year for each of the next five years

3. increase in the number of beds available for immigration

detainees by 40,000

4. The Department of Homeland Security will be required to

establish “minimum standards” for birth certificates and driver’s

licenses — some have called this the first step toward a national ID

card.

Other immigration provisions reported by the Washington Post as

being included in the bill:

1. “increase criminal penalties for smuggling illegal immigrants

and allow deportation of any non-American who received military training

from a terrorist organization” (all words from the Post)

2. “require visa applicants to have in-person interviews”

________________________________

Excerpts from “House Approves Intelligence Bill“:

Washington Post, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004

By Charles Babington

The House yesterday approved landmark legislation to restructure the

nation’s intelligence community, creating a director of national

intelligence and a counterterrorism center to better coordinate

government assets and avert the type of intelligence lapses that

occurred prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The House’s 336 to 75 vote puts the long-debated measure on the brink

of enactment…

[The Senate then passed the bill into law that day, 89-2, and adjourned the 108th Congress ? Konrad]

Lawmakers concerned mainly about Pentagon prerogatives were assured

that the defense secretary, not the director of national intelligence,

would continue to control spy satellites and aircraft. But those mainly

seeking crackdowns on illegal immigration fared less well, winning only

House leaders’ assurance that immigration issues will be taken up early

next year.

In a 90-minute closed meeting of House Republicans yesterday morning,

the chief advocate of putting more immigration restrictions in the bill

? Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (Wis.) ? implored

colleagues to hold out for a better deal. But with Hastert, DeLay and

others urging lawmakers to embrace the White House-supported bill,

Sensenbrenner could prevent only 67 Republicans from voting aye.

Democrats overwhelmingly supported the measure, with only eight voting

no.

Several lawmakers said the Senate would have had serious reservations

about the proposed immigration provisions, which might have scuttled the

bill. Among Maryland’s eight House members, all voted for the bill

except Roscoe Bartlett (R). Among Virginia legislators, all voted aye

except three Republicans who voted no: Jo Ann S. Davis, Randy Forbes and

Virgil Goode.

The House vote and today’s expected Senate action will save Bush from

the political embarrassment of a Republican-controlled Congress

rejecting a major bill he supports…After the Nov. 20 revolt by House Republicans, which surprised Hastert

and the White House, the administration turned up the heat….”The president and the vice president’s interventions with House

members were absolutely key in moving this bill forward,” said Susan

Collins (R-Maine), the Senate’s chief sponsor.

Although much of the recent debate focused on protecting Pentagon

turf, several House Republicans said the fiercest resistance centered on

immigration questions. The original House version — drafted with no

Democratic input — included numerous provisions to keep undocumented

foreigners from entering the country and to make it easier to deport

visitors who overstay their visas or break laws.

Sensenbrenner repeatedly noted that the 19 hijackers of Sept. 11 had

obtained multiple driver’s licenses, which he said helped them open bank

accounts and board planes. He urged the House to retain language that

would require states to verify the legal status of non-citizens applying

for driver’s licenses.

Opponents, including businesses that rely on low-wage undocumented

workers, state governments and civil liberties groups, said

Sensenbrenner’s proposal would require extensive scrutiny and national

debate. In weeks of House-Senate negotiations over the intelligence

legislation, the driver’s license provision and others were dropped.

In yesterday’s closed GOP meeting, several participants said, Hastert

promised to include immigration provisions in a package of “must pass”

legislation early next year.

Some members, however, said the promise might prove empty. The White

House and Senate, they note, are much less receptive to sharp crackdowns

on illegal immigration than are many House members. “There’s a real lack

of confidence that we’ll get a bill to secure our borders,” said Rep.

Tom Feeney (R-Fla.).

The House vote was a victory for the Sept. 11 commission, whose

hard-hitting 567-page report issued in July became a bestseller and

spurred Congress to hold hearings and start drafting legislation.

Commission Chairman Thomas H. Kean (R), a former New Jersey governor,

and Vice Chairman Lee H. Hamilton (D), a former congressman from

Indiana, lobbied the public and lawmakers to enact an overhaul this

year.

Staff writer Walter Pincus contributed to this report.