Backbenchers on the march to force vote on bill to take jobs away from illegal aliens
DEAR FRIENDS,
You all were amazing today with your faxes and phone calls into the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.) filed a rarely successful Discharge Petition mid-day to try to force a House floor vote on the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088) sponsored by freshman Democrat Heath Shuler (D-N.C.).
When a discharge petition is filed, Members of the House have to walk up to the clerk on the House floor to sign the petition. Immediately upon the filing today, a line formed, snaking around the House chamber, with Members eager to show their frustration with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) who is unlikely on her own ever to allow the bill to the floor without attaching an amnesty.
By the end of the day, 139 Members had already signed H.R. 4088 (the Secure America with Verification Enforcement Act)!
We will need 218 signatures (the majority of the House) to force the vote.
This is going to be another nearly impossible fight for our side, but 139 on the first day is really impressive.
The SAVE Act would accomplish the single most important action that would reduce the illegal alien population -- it would remove the job magnet for illegal immigration by requiring every employer to run new hires through the E-Verify electronic program, and begin to weed out the illegals already in the workforce.
The minute the petition was filed today, we sent out Alerts to you and you started the phones ringing in every single Representative's office -- as well as burning up their fax machines -- urging your Member to get down to the House floor and get in that conga line to sign the petition.
Here at NumbersUSA headquarters OUR phone rang all afternoon with calls from congressional staffers begging us to take their Members' name off the phone list. Most wanted us to know that their Member had gone down to the line on the House floor and would be signing the petition soon and would we please go ahead and stop the calls from our members.
What a surprise it was for all these office staffs to find out that so many of their constituents knew more about this matter than they did, and that they were so insistent on seeing a vote on the SAVE Act.
PLEASE GO TO YOUR CUSTOMIZED ACTION BUFFET TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SENT ALL THE FAXES AND MADE THE PHONE CALLS TO PUSH THESE ISSUES. www.NumbersUSA.com/actionbuffet
We need 79 more signatures. Make sure your own Member has signed.
You can also click here to see the list of all co-sponsors of the SAVE Act.
Friends, so many of you have gotten us to this point. You have been sending faxes of all kinds since November to try to persuade your Representative to co-sponsor this bill. Hundreds of thousands of faxes have made a difference.
That, and our NumbersUSA Capitol Hill Team, have made a big difference in persuading the House Republican leadership to back this discharge petition. They now are urging Republicans to sign the petition to try to pass this bill which primarily came out of the big class of freshman Democrats. It is a rare sign of bi-partisanship around here.
We'll be posting regular updates on the petition signing effort.
This is such an important morale booster, isn't it, what with all the media talk about how immigration has fizzled as an election issue thus far this year. The fact is that all kinds of Members of the House believe that it is very important for this fall's election campaigns that they do something constructive to combat immigration now.
Motion to Discharge a Committee from the Consideration of a resolution
March 11, 2008
To the Clerk of the House of Representatives:
Pursuant to clause 2 of rule XV, I, Thelma D. Drake, move to discharge the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Education and Labor, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Natural Resources, from consideration of the bill (H.R. 4088) to provide immigration reform by securing America's borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical employer verification program; which was referred to said committees on November 6, 2007, in support of which motion the undersigned Members of the House of Representatives affix their signatures, to wit:
Find out why they can't support it. They are representing you - and so you have a right to know why they are voting or not voting to support something.
This act is to help stop illegal immigration by helping to prevent them from getting jobs in America and also it helps "deport them" to their home countries thru attrition.
This would help set the foundation across the country for what has been passed in AZ and OK.
Last year illegals sent 66 billion "home" to their countries - just think if that 66 billion had been earned by American citizens whose "home" country was America.
SAVE Act Discharge Petition Filed, Gaining Momentum
(March 12) Yesterday, House Republican leaders endorsed a discharge petition for the enforcement-only SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement; H.R. 4088). The petition was filed Tuesday morning by Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.) and has 150 bi-partisan signers as of 12:26 p.m. this afternoon.
If the petition collects 218 House signatures, a simple majority, the bill can bypass the committee process and be placed on the House floor for a vote, regardless of any objections by Democratic leaders.
The SAVE Act, with 155 bi-partisan signers in the House and Senate, would drive millions of illegal aliens out of their jobs by requiring mandatory employment eligibility verification.
JUST 68 NAMES TO GO AND WE WILL HAVE 218 NAMES - PLEASE HELP!
IF YOUR CONGRESSMENS NAME IS NOT ON THE LIST THEN CALL HIM / HER AND ASK WHY??????????????????
Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina gave his Democratic colleagues some political cover last fall by introducing legislation to crack down on illegal immigration.
Photo: AP
Freshman Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina gave his Democratic colleagues some political cover last fall by introducing legislation to crack down on illegal immigration. Now Republicans are trying to use his bill as a bludgeon.
GOP lawmakers in the House started gathering signatures Tuesday on a petition that would force Democrats to schedule a vote on Shuler’s measure to increase enforcement along the borders and block undocumented workers from jobs in the U.S.
The move gives Republicans a chance to show off their immigration bona fides in an election year while putting pressure on Democrats from more conservative districts to rebuff their own leaders in support of the bill. It also complicates fragile negotiations between House Democrats over the substance of a modest immigration overhaul being considered by members of the majority, and could reopen some political wounds for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.), backed by her leaders, filed the discharge petition calling for a vote on the Shuler bill, which would add 8,000 border guards to the federal payroll, expedite the deportation of illegal immigrants and expand an existing database for employers to check the eligibility of a potential worker.
To force that vote, Drake and her colleagues must corral 218 signatures, which means they would need near-unanimous support from within their own party plus a substantial bloc of Democratic votes. Shuler quickly signaled his support for the procedural push, despite the pressure it puts on some of his colleagues.
“I would have preferred that the SAVE Act came to the floor through regular order, but it deserves to be debated and voted upon on the House floor,” Shuler said in a statement.
Freshman Rep. Brad Ellsworth, a fellow Democrat who represents a conservative district in southern Indiana, also signed on to the discharge petition Tuesday, and others were open to backing it.
“I want to see this bill on the floor,” said freshman Rep. Jason Altmire, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has co-sponsored the bill and will consider signing the petition if his colleagues can’t reach an agreement on an immigration overhaul. “I’m hopeful this will force a resolution.”
In total, 49 Democrats have signed on to Shuler’s bill. Republicans began circulating quotes in support of the legislation Tuesday from some of those co-sponsors. GOP lawmakers and aides have privately expressed doubts that they can rally enough support from within their ranks to force a vote.
Meanwhile, a group of House Democrats have been huddling for weeks over a modest immigration overhaul that would extend a visa program for low-skilled temporary workers. A coalition of business owners, such as restaurant owners in Massachusetts and resort owners in Michigan, is pushing Congress to quickly approve the extension so these employers will have enough seasonal labor to make it through the summer.
But competing interests are weighing down the core legislation.
On one side, the enforcement-only crowd, which supports the Shuler bill, is holding out for tougher border protection and oversight of the workplace.
On the other side, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are angling for more comprehensive reforms that would include some protections for undocumented workers already in this country.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who is trying to broker a truce between the competing interests, has concerns that the knee-jerk rejection of a comprehensive overhaul has complicated the process for members of the majority.
“We can win on the merits of our argument, but it’s hard to win on the politics in a very political year,” Stupak said of reaching a compromise. “We’re trying to find that balance.”
Stupak and a handful of Democratic colleagues held a series of meetings Tuesday, beginning at 8 a.m., to hammer out a compromise that all sides would accept.
The group includes Shuler, Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Reps. Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts, Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois and Xavier Becerra of California.
That group also has reached out to Republicans, but the GOP roiled the process Tuesday by launching the discharge petition.
The Shuler bill was viewed as a political tool when Shuler introduced it last year. Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray of California quickly signed on as a co-sponsor and began recruiting his GOP colleagues to do the same.
But the legislation presents lawmakers with sizable hurdles. For example, the bill calls for the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to share employee data, creating a major new workload — as well as civil liberty concerns — for three agencies that have already been stretched thin under the requirements of their charters.
The Republican discharge petition does force House Democrats to confront the issue in earnest for the first time since coming to power.A Senate immigration package fell apart last spring, sparing the House majority from having to address the complicated politics involved.
But the issue also serves as a stark reminder that House Republicans differ with their presidential candidate on the issue of immigration.
GOP leaders were moving forward with the petition last week but postponed that decision until they could confer with surrogates for McCain.
Illegal immigration reform and secure borders remain an unfinished piece of business for this congress after an attempt at reform died in the Senate last year. But now there is a bi-partisan move in the House of Representatives to stoke the debate again with the SAVE Act legislation which calls for 8,000 new border patrol agents on the border and requires all businesses to use the federal E-Verify program to check the legal status of its employees. One factor the SAVE Act does not include is granting amnesty to the 12 to 20 illegal aliens living in this country. Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-California) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina) join us today to talk about this bill which could head to the House floor in the coming weeks.
Sorry - forgot to add that On TV tonight will be on the Lou Dobbs show.
I am sure though that he will cover some of it on his radio show today - so check to see if your representative is representing you.
If you want 8,000 new border patrol agents on the border and all businesses across the country regardless if they are in AZ or not ( AZ has this law in effect already and look at the results it is getting) to us E-Verify then your representative should be on board.
If they are not - then I don't think they have heard your voice and have no clue what their citizens want.
My congressman signed it. I sent them a thank you note for doing so.Good post CJBL.
I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
SAVE Act Discharge Petition Filed, Gaining Momentum
(March 12) Yesterday, House Republican leaders endorsed a discharge petition for the enforcement-only SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement; H.R. 4088). The petition was filed Tuesday morning by Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.) and has 160 bi-partisan signersas of 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday. If the petition collects 218 House signatures, a simple majority, the bill can bypass the committee process and be placed on the House floor for a vote, regardless of any objections by Democratic leaders.
Today at 9:00 am I posted this request and there were 139 Congressmen who had signed up. Now as of 3:30 pm CA time we are up to 160 Congressmen who have signed up.
We picked up 21 additional Congressmen today in about 6 hours.
We need 58 more to get this to the floor!
Here is the new updated list:
Signers of Discharge Petition to Bring SAVE Act to House Floor - 160
Please review this updated list and call and fax to get the attention of any of your representatives who are not representing you!
PS- my rep is not on this list and I called and faxed yesterday and called and faxed again today (both CA and DC offices) and he is on my hit list for tomorrow.
SAVE Act Discharge Petition Filed, Gaining Momentum
(March 12) Yesterday, House Republican leaders endorsed a discharge petition for the enforcement-only SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement; H.R. 4088). The petition was filed Tuesday morning by Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.) and has 163 bi-partisan signers as of 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
OK - here is the new list:
Signers of Discharge Petition to Bring SAVE Act to House Floor - 163
You want my vote - then common courtesy is required!
Here is what I just said to the office of my Congressman Brad Sherman:
I called Congressman Brad Shermans office in Washington DC today and again asked why the Congressmen was not signing onto the SAVE Act and signing onto the petition to get it to the floor.
I spoke to Eda who I spoke to a couple of days ago. I told her that I was checking daily to see if the Congressman signed up. I told her that if he was not going to then the least he could do was to have the common courtesy of telling the people who voted for him why not.
She said that I could go to the Town Hall meeting on March 30th in Reseda to bring up the question.
I told her that this was going on right now in Congress and that tax payers in West Hills wanted to know where he stood now - not at the end of the month. This bill was being reviewed and petitions signed off this week, and again I felt it was just common courtesy to let the people he was paid to represent know where he stood.
I told her that I had voted for the Congressman in prior elections and that I had never asked for one thing from him except now. I told her that on this one very important issue - especially to people living in Southern CA that was so greatly affected by it - he should let us know if he is going to support American Citizens or not.
I told her that I would call back and also check his web page for the explanation on what he was going to do and why.
I told her that this was my big concern and I would base all of my future votes and support on his response to this one issue.
I told her that it was just way to critical to CA and the tax payers and the burden put on us and the downgrading to our way of life, and this could no longer be an issue that "well he is part of the party" so I will support him. I told her that this issue is so critical that it has no party allegiance.
Anyway - I will let you know if he posts his reason why he will or will not vote for the SAVE Act on his web page.
IF YOUR CONGRESSMEN'S NAME IS NOT ON THE LIST THEN CALL AND FIND OUT WHY!
Don't you agree that it is just common courtesy to let the people who you supposedly "represent" know where you stand on such an important issue?
If this becomes LAW all over the USA then every single employerer will have to do what is now being done in AZ and OK - and it is succeeding!
66 Billion in remittances sent back to Mexico by illegal workers that could be earned by American citizens and kept in our economy!
I would say that is an important enough issue to let the voters know where you stand!
I was wrong, earlier, when I said my congressman's name was on the list. He is an early cosponsor of H.R.4088, but has not signed the discharge petition: 110-5.
I know Dan is a strong opponent of illegal immigration and sent a message to his web mail this morning to get on board 11-05.
GET CONGRESS ATTENTION! CHANGE YOUR W-4 AT WORK AND CLAIM 10 DEPENDENTS SO NO TAXES WILL BE TAKEN FROM YOUR PAYCHECK. WHEN THE MONEY STOPS COMING IN MAYBE THEY WILL REMEMBER THEY ARE SERVANTS TO WE THE PEOPLE.
SAVE Act Discharge Petition Filed, Gaining Momentum
(March 13) Supporters of the enforcement-only SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement; H.R. 4088) have already gained more than two-thirds of the signers needed to force a vote in the U.S. House. Click to view the 168 bi-partisan signers (as of 10:25 a.m. on Thursday) of the Discharge Petition filed by Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.) on Tuesday.
Here is the update list: (Please note all gains are again in the Republican side) - keep that in mind when voting for Congressmen and Senators in Nov or 09. WE NEED 50 MORE SIGNATURES - THE MISSING DEMS WHO CO-SPONSERED THE BILL BUT WON'T SIGN UP TO GET IT TO THE FLOOR = 42 NAMES - UMMM THAT WOULD GIVE US ONLY 8 MORE LEFT - WHY????????? WON'T THE DEM'S COME TO THE TABLE?
Signers of Discharge Petition to Bring SAVE Act to House Floor - 168
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Illegal immigration reform and secure borders remain an unfinished piece of business for this congress after an attempt at reform died in the Senate last year. But now there is a bi-partisan move in the House of Representatives to stoke the debate again with the SAVE Act legislation which calls for 8,000 new border patrol agents on the border and requires all businesses to use the federal E-Verify program to check the legal status of its employees. One factor the SAVE Act does not include is granting amnesty to the 12 to 20 illegal aliens living in this country. Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-California) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina) join us today to talk about this bill which could head to the House floor in the coming weeks. 
