by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 14, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

hrowing a monkey wrench into White House and Senate plans for immigration reform, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) signaled that he wanted more time before granting citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants. Facing reelection next November, the House GOP refuses to capitulate to the Senate bill, offering citizenship to undocumented workers. Watching former San Diego congressman Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) get reelected to fill the vacant term of disgraced congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, shows the importance of immigration reform to Republican voters. Following the White House or Senate could prove disastrous for GOP incumbents and newcomers. “We're going to take a long look at it,” said Hastert, signaling that he's in no rush to sign-on to the Senate's version, handing Bush and Mexico's President Vicente Fox a big victory.

      House Republicans aren't ready to jump on the immigration reform bandwagon until after November's election. Hastert isn't inclined yet to appoint anyone to a joint House-Senate conference committee to grind out a compromise. “I think we should know clearly what's in the Senate bill,” said House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), suggesting possible hearings. House GOP leadership wants to discuss border security and enforcement before debating whether to grant legal status to some 11-million illegal aliens. While immigration cuts across party lines, more Republicans are leery of President George W. Bush's cozy relationship with Mexican President Vicente Fox, who favors granting legal status to millions of undocumented aliens. Bush's guest worker program offers no assurances of how he plans to manage lawbreakers, when guest workers' visas expire or get counterfeited.

      Since the last immigration reform bill passed in 1986, tens-of-millions of illegal aliens have poured across the Mexican border. Few, if any, of the bill's enforcement provisions were carried out, causing a progressive explosion in government largesse. Fox isn't concerned about the whopping price tag and ongoing hemorrhage to the national treasury, costing taxpayers billions and driving up unprecedented federal red ink. Bush wants to finance the Iraq war and a whopping guest workers program, promising to stretch the federal treasury to the breaking point. Bush has no answer what to do about the expected retirement of 70-million baby boomers, beginning to collect Medicare and Social Security in 2009. Responsible elected officials have to look beyond the momentary euphoria and figure out how the government can meet its obligations to aging boomers approaching retirement.

      President Bush and the U.S. Senate must face reality or accept an economic calamity of unprecedented proportions. No economy can keep pace with the profligacy in Washington. Spending $5-billion a month on Iraq and Afghanistan, plus another $5-billion a month on Katrina relief leaves no room for error, like a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Bush has allowed Big Oil to take a wrecking ball to the U.S. economy, gouging consumers, fueling inflation and forcing the Federal Reserve Board to continue hiking interest rates, now hurting the stock market. When the market tanks, both the U.S. treasury and corporations get hurt. If the economy slows down or slides into recession, tax receipts dwindle, driving deficits through the roof. Discounted share prices also dry up corporate liquidity, hurting earnings and forcing companies to belt tighten—including corporate layoffs.

      Bush's guest workers' program essentially grants amnesty to millions of illegal aliens already collecting free government services. Using phony Social Security cards account for millions in unclaimed taxes, currently helping the government defray massive red ink. Granting legal status and issuing real Social Security cards would bleed the treasury, already in a big hole. Before the House acquiesces to White House and Senate pressure, the House Budget Office needs to figure out the potential costs of legalizing millions of illegal aliens and establishing a guest workers program. “It's an obvious retreat from where we are,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), pressuring Hastert to avoid hearings and move toward a conference committee. Before pressuring the House to sign on, Reid and his Senate colleagues should carefully study the fiscal impact of a guest workers' program.

      Today's immigration reform threatens to break the treasury and deny Medicare and Social Security to 70-million boomers set to begin retiring in 2009. Xenophobia has nothing to do with opposing the White House and Senate's version of immigration reform that stands to exacerbate the deficit and liquidate the resources needed to take care of the next generation of aging retirees. “It shows how politically advantageous it is to talk about the issue and what and what you would do and what the federal government should do,” said Rep. Bilbray, questioning whether the country has the resources to underwrite the Senate's version of immigration reform. There's nothing partisan about protecting the government's funds it owes future retiree3s. With the war on terror already costing $500-billion, it's reckless to consider perhaps the costliest domestic mistake in U.S. history.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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