REPUBLICAN STATEHOUSE REPORT
Columbia, South Carolina
May 1, 2008
HOUSE REVIEWING SENATE IMMIGRATION "REFORM"
Anyone watching the South Carolina General Assembly has seen some great successes for conservatives this year — tough new DUI restrictions, rejection of anonymous pet projects, and a balanced budget.
Recently, you saw the worst side of the General Assembly, too.
For the past several weeks, House conservatives have been locked in a pitched battle with the Senate over immigration reform. My colleagues in the House Republican Caucus have said time and time again that we are for the strongest bill possible to deter illegal immigrants from coming to South Carolina. Illegal immigrants are costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
We approved our tough version of immigration reform four months ago.
The House and Senate appointed a conference committee — usually one of the last steps in the "How a Bill Becomes a Law" poster you studied in grammar school. The conferees came to an agreement when the Senators essentially walked away from the table and refused to sign the report. There were even a few provisions in the Senate version that were stronger. We agreed to adopt those and all three House members signed the report. But without signatures from the Senate, which basically means they agree to the bill, the House can not vote for this legislation.
Instead of declaring victory, the Senate spent a week of posturing, press conferences, and pandering to special interests before approving a "compromise" bill late Wednesday. We began reviewing the bill Thursday but the first impressions are that the Senate bill keeps open the federal loopholes that got us to this situation, uses intentionally vague wording, and proposes and entirely new government bureaucracy. That should not be acceptable to conservatives, and it is not acceptable to me.
Even Governor Sanford said the Senators could "talk the talk," but not "walk the walk."
I assure you that the House Republicans hear your calls. We will put pressure on the Senate in the coming weeks to consider the tough bill that we will approve to replace their weak attempts at reform.
We also join Governor Sanford in calling on the people of South Carolina to call, write, and visit their Senators; holding them accountable for not approving immigration reform. This is a difficult issue that will test the resolve of conservatives. I need your support.
