Bush offers concession on immigration

Bush offers concession on immigration
Agrees to upfront infusion of $4.4 billion for border security

President Bush, hoping to salvage immigration overhaul legislation, has agreed to an upfront infusion of money for federal border security efforts in a concession designed to win over skeptical conservatives.

Bush supports setting aside all the fees and penalties in the bill solely for tougher security on the border and workplace enforcement, White House press secretary Tony Snow said Thursday. The president on Monday morning will make the announcement of his backing for an amendment that two Republican senators have proposed to accomplish this end.

The provision would immediately divert $4.4 billion toward border security, with that amount to be paid back once the new fees are in place, Snow said.

With many questions unanswered, it was unclear how much of a concession the move amounts to for Bush.

The White House did not have an estimate of how much money the provision would generate yearly toward border security. It also could not say whether the money would be in addition to currently planned border security funding levels or just a way to dedicate funds to that purpose. And it wasn't clear what budget account would be drawn down to pay for the initial $4.4 billion.

The aim, Snow said, is "trying to get money to the border right away."

A bipartisan group of senators crafted a fragile compromise on the immigration bill that Bush supports. But the deal is in deep trouble, because many Republicans oppose that it provides a way for millions of immigrants who entered the country illegally to become legal.

The group behind the compromise was hoping to reach agreement to allow votes on a limited set of changes from the Republican and Democratic sides in exchange for a commitment from GOP holdouts to let debate on the bill resume. Architects have argued their so-called "grand bargain" could collapse under the weight of too many amendments, or those designed as "poison pills."

The legislation stalled last week when only seven GOP senators supported a Democratic bid to limit debate—called a cloture vote—and expedite a final vote.

Snow said the White House feels good about its chances for bringing the bill back to the floor now.

"We feel confident there are going to be enough votes for cloture," he said.

The mandatory border security funding amendment, proposed by GOP Sens. John Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, is designed to show that the extra border security and workplace enforcement measures in the bill have a dedicated funding stream. That way they would not be subject to the whims of the yearly congressional appropriations process.