Immigration Bill: One More Shot

Monday, June 25, 2007; A02

washington post

An immigration overhaul -- the chief domestic initiative of President Bush's second term -- will take center stage a final time this year as the Senate returns to a bipartisan bill that stalled a few weeks ago. Bush is expected to discuss the bill on Tuesday.

After five months of negotiations, backers of the bill are confident they can get the 60 votes necessary to end debate and move toward a final vote. But passage is far from guaranteed.

Both parties will be allowed to submit about a dozen amendments; however, a number that are being considered may be "poison pills," designed primarily to kill the bill.

Republicans are focused on skepticism among many of the GOP faithful -- aired loudly on talk radio -- that the measure will accomplish anything in the way of border enforcement. Democrats are concerned about the bill's emphasis on job skills over family ties in deciding who gets residency priority.

Also on the Senate's schedule are the Employee Free Choice Act, which backers say would strengthen union workers' rights, and a defense authorization bill. The House will tackle the interior and environment appropriations bill. Both chambers will leave at week's end for a week-long July 4 recess.

2008 DASH: It will be an intense week on the presidential campaign trail, foremost because of Saturday's deadline on second-quarter fundraising. The big questions are whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) were able to raise respectable sums and whether Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) raised more than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

Big Republican speeches are scheduled. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani will address Pat Robertson's Regent University tomorrow. It will be an important moment for Giuliani, a supporter of abortion rights and gay rights whose hope of winning the GOP nod rests partly on whether he can persuade Christian evangelicals to support him. Meanwhile, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.), perhaps planning to get into the race early next month, will speak to the South Carolina GOP on Wednesday.

PBS will host a debate of the Democratic candidates at Howard University on Thursday. The Democrats will speak to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials on Saturday in Orlando; the Republican candidates declined to take part, the group says.

And -- don't forget him -- Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) will appear on "Late Show With David Letterman" on Friday.

TRAVELING WHITE HOUSE: Much of the White House's energy this week will be spent propping up the immigration bill, but also on Bush's agenda are remarks on the No Child Left Behind law today and a visit to the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., on Thursday. On Sunday, he will welcome President Vladimir Putin of Russia to Kennebunkport, Maine.

First lady Laura Bush will have a busy week of her own, with a trip to Mali, Zambia, Senegal and Mozambique to highlight the president's AIDS program. [See At the White House, Page A17.]

OPEN SEAT: California will hold a special election on Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D). Top candidates in the staunchly Democratic district include state Rep. Laura Richardson; Valerie McDonald, daughter of the late congresswoman; and state Sen. Jenny Oropeza.