Border fence bill may race the clock

WASHINGTON – The Senate moved closer to approving 700 miles of fencing along the southern border Thursday, voting to cut off debate on a bill that GOP leaders want to send to the president’s desk before lawmakers leave this weekend for the election recess.

But time is not on the Republican lawmakers’ side.

The Senate voted 71 to 28 to end debate. Under the Senate rules, there could now be up to 30 hours of debate on the bill. The timing of a final vote depends on what kind of an agreement Majority Leader Bill Frist can strike with Minority Leader Harry Reid. As of late Thursday there was no deal. So it could be Saturday before there’s a final vote.

But the House is scheduled to recess sometime late today. And because the Senate is expected to make some technical amendments to the bill, the House would need to pass it again. That means final passage of the fence bill may come in mid-November when lawmakers come back for a post-election lame duck session.

Many of the Democrats and some Republicans who voted yes Thursday say they are still committed to a broader immigration overhaul that would include a new guest-worker program and a plan to allow many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living here to work their way to legal status. But they also support increased border security, such as the fencing and other electronic surveillance technology included in the bill.

The 700 miles is twice what senators have approved before. In May, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to build 370 miles of fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southern border.

“The San Diego fence has been incredibly successful,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the main Senate champion of increased fencing. Sessions said approving the fence will give lawmakers “credibility with the American people” and pave the way for discussions on a broader solution to the illegal immigration issue.

But Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the architects of the Senate-passed comprehensive bill, angrily denounced the fence and said his Senate colleagues were taking “what is served up by the House of Representatives.”

House GOP leaders have refused to discuss the differences between their enforcement-only bill passed last year and the Senate measure. They say enforcement must come first.

“This is a feel-good bumper sticker vote!” shouted Kennedy. “It’s not going to work because half of all the undocumented come here legally. They don’t come over the fence.”

The yes vote to end debate doesn’t guarantee the bill will pass, but it’s almost a sure thing.

A number of senators who voted against ending debate may well vote for the final passage of the bill.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and several other lawmakers had hoped to add provisions for a new agricultural guest worker program, but Senate leaders are balking at the amendment.

“I support the fence, but we ought to be able to offer the Ag-Jobs bill to this legislation. We have fruit rotting in the fields right now,” Boxer, D-Calif., said late Thursday.

Boxer, along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, were the authors of the agriculture amendment. Feinstein and Craig voted in favor of ending fence debate.

Contact the writer: 202-628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com