Status of Senate’s Immigration Bill

The fate of the flawed and misguided Senate immigration bill could be determined this week.  The Senate will likely vote this Tuesday on whether or not to end debate, which would pave the way for the vote on the bill itself.  Sixty votes are needed to end debate, and at this moment it is uncertain whether that threshold will be met.  If that sixty vote threshold is met, a vote on the immigration bill will likely occur late this week.

As I have said before, this Senate immigration bill is bad policy.  In fact, our country would be better off if we rejected this bill outright and simply focused on enforcing the laws already on the books.  That is why I am supporting a resolution (H. Res. 499) introduced by fellow Texas Congressman Lamar Smith that calls for full enforcement of all current immigration laws.  This would include fully funding the construction of a security barrier along the southern border.  A similar barrier helped secure the border in southern California, and expanding it elsewhere along the border states is an important part of the solution to this growing problem.

Farm Bill Update

Our work in the House Agriculture Committee to write the 2007 Farm Bill took a big step forward last week.   A subcommittee I am a member of unanimously approved a draft of the portion of the Farm Bill that sets commodity and risk management policy.  Early in the process, the original draft was going in the wrong direction.  Cotton producers, in particular, would have taken a big hit because the draft proposed to reduce loan rates and target prices for cotton producers and for others. 

Because I didn’t believe the original draft was good policy, I worked with colleagues to make necessary improvements.  In the end, we passed a version that provides equal treatment for cotton and keeps all commodities under the same policies as in the 2002 Farm Bill.  We also made some important improvements in the cotton marketing loan program to help U.S. producers keep their cotton moving better to the export market. I am also pleased to report that my proposal to improve crop insurance options for producers was included in the subcommittee’s final draft.  The next step in the process is for the full House Agriculture Committee to meet and consider each of the subcommittee proposals.  This next step should take place after July 4

-Randy