Negotiations to Limit Amendments to C-J-S Bill Fail; Vote on Vitter/Bennett Census & Immigration Status Amendment Could Occur on Wednesday

Negotiations in the Senate to limit amendments to a bill that has become a vehicle for a number of contentious immigration proposals broke down on Tuesday.  Tuesday's breakdown paves the way for possible votes on such contentious issues as identifying the immigration status of persons during the 2010 census enumeration, permanently extending the E-Verify program, and statutorily requiring all federal employers to requiring those proposals.

Tuesday's breakdown occurred as the Senate Democratic Leadership sought, but failed, to negotiate a list of floor amendments that senators could offer to Senate Appropriations Committee-reported version of H.R. 2847, the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (C-J-S Appropriations Bill).  Following the breakdown, the Senate voted on whether to bring debate to a close, failing to do so.

The Senate is expected to resume debate on the bill on Wednesday.  In the meantime, the Leadership is expected to continue efforts to reach an agreement limiting amendments to the measure. 


The Census and Immigration Status Amendment
The census and immigration status proposal that the Senate could take up is contained in an amendment that has been offered to the C-J-S Appropriations bill by Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Robert F. Bennett (R-UT).  The Vitter/Bennett amendment would require the 2010 decennial census to inquire about the immigration status of every person living in the United States.  The amendment is opposed by the Obama Administration. 

The Department of Commerce, which administers the U.S. Census Bureau, has said of the amendment, “[a]dding a new question to the 2010 Census questionnaire less than six months before Census Day (April 1, 2010) would mean the Census Bureau could not complete the enumeration, processing, and deliver of census results by the statutory deadline of December 31, 2010.   It is too late to shift gears at this point in the process.”

Six former heads of the Census Bureau from both Republican and Democratic Administrations also have expressed their opposition to the Vitter proposal, saying “[a]dding a new census question now would require redesigning and reformatting questionnaires and all related materials, such as language assistance guides and web-based instructions; redesigning instructions and training manuals for more than a million temporary census workers; reconfiguring or rebuilding data capture and processing software, which is designed for the specific questionnaire already in place; and revising a $400 million outreach and promotional campaign, much of it already deployed, which highlights the new short form’s ten questions and often confirms that the census does not ask about immigration status.”

Other Immigration-Related Amendments

• Executive Office for Immigration Review.  The Senate Appropriations Committee-reported version of H.R. 2847 would appropriate $300.685 MILLION for the Department of Justice’s Administrative Review and Appeals section.  The bulk of those funds are for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).  This is the same amount requested by the Administration and approximately $30.685 MILLION, or 11.2 percent, above the fiscal year 2009 appropriation.

• State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.  The committee report accompanying the Senate Appropriations Committee-reported version of H.R. 2847 notes that the measure includes $228 MILLION for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), a program for which the Obama Administration proposed zero funding.  This would be a cut of $172 MILLION in the amount appropriated for SCAAP in fiscal year 2009.
   

• U.S. Marshall’s Service.  The committee report accompanying the Senate Appropriations Committee-reported version of H.R. 2847 notes that the Committee "strongly supports the U.S. Marshal Service increase in funding for immigration enforcement."  In justifying the increase in funding, the committee report stated that "[i]n the past, the U.S. Marshals Service was forced to divert resources from fugitive apprehension to address this growing, problem." 

Upcoming Floor Debate and Amendments
As previously noted, the Senate could take up as many as four immigration-related amendments when it resumes its consideration of H.R. 2847:

• VITTER/BENNETT CENSUS & IMMIGRATION STATUS AMENDMENT.  Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) have offered an amendment (Senate Amendment Number 2847) to H.R. 2847 providing that no funds may be used for the collection of census data that does not include questions regarding United States citizenship and immigration status. 

• ENSIGN INCREASED FUNDING FOR SCAAP AMENDMENT.  Senator John Ensign (R-NV) is planning to offer an amendment (Senate Amendment Number 2648) that would increase funding in the bill for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). 

• HUTCHISON INCREASED FUNDING FOR SCAAP AMENDMENT.  Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) is planning to offer an amendment (Senate Amendment Number 2666) that would appropriate an additional $172 MILLION for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which would bring the fiscal year 2010 appropriation up to the amount appropriated for the program in fiscal year 2009.

• SESSIONS PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AND MANDATORY CONTRACTOR USE OF E-VERIFY AMENDMENT.  Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is planning to offer an amendment (Senate Amendment Number 2665) that would permanently extend the E-Verify program and make its use mandatory for federal contractors.

Senate Floor Consideration Thus Far
The Senate took up H.R. 2847 beginning on Monday, October 5, 2009.  It had it under consideration off-and-on throughout the week.  In Senate action that occurred last week, the Senate rejected an amendment that was offered by Senator Vitter to bar Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funding to jurisdictions that have a "sanctuary" policy barring local law enforcement personnel from communicating with Department of Homeland Security enforcement personnel.