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Senate Revives a Big Debate
By Jim Myers
Tulsa World
June 27, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate revived debate Tuesday on a once-dead bill to revamp the nation's immigration system, but Oklahoma's two senators and other opponents of the measure refused to surrender.
Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, admitting he was caught off guard by the bill's revival, vowed to continue efforts to try and kill it again.
''I didn't think they had the votes, but they did,'' Inhofe said.
His comments followed a 64-35 vote that allowed the Senate to bring back the contentious bill, which lost a key procedural vote earlier this month and was considered dead by some.
Supporters of the bill needed 60 votes.
''I am very disappointed in the outcome of today's vote,'' Inhofe said.
''I have long said that I will not support any measure that allows illegal immigrants to shortcut the current path to citizenship, and I will continue to fight to expose the flaws in this bill, helping to defeat this egregious gift of amnesty to 12 (million) to 20 million illegal immigrants.''
He held out hope that amendments expected to be considered in the next day or so could make the measure more unacceptable to more senators.
Inhofe, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn and other opponents will get their next shot at bringing the bill down on Thursday, when another key procedural vote is scheduled.
A member of the Bush administration, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, called Tuesday's vote an important step forward and expressed confidence the bill now will pass the Senate.
''We look at the alternative, and the alternative is nothing,'' he said, in a telephone conference call with reporters along with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
One of the administration's most vocal cheerleaders for the bill, Chertoff said it was the only real solution to the broken system now in place.
He said the bill may not give everybody everything they want but it gives everybody something.
Chertoff and Gutierrez's discussion with reporters is part of a major push by the administration to get the bill back on track.
President Bush said ''I view this as a historic opportunity for Congress to act."
Bush repeatedly has rejected opponents' claim that the bill, which he backs, represents amnesty for illegal immigrants now in the country.
He points to the bill's provisions to bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows and gives them a chance to pay penalties for being in the country illegally.
At a press conference with House Republicans who oppose the bill, Coburn said lawmakers have to win back the confidence of the public, which demand fairness.
Republican Rep. John Sullivan of Oklahoma also attended that press conference, which focused on an unusual effort by the Republican conference to express opposition to the Senate bill even before it receives a final vote.
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