Macaca
12-13 06:23 PM
Intraparty Feuds Dog Democrats, Stall Congress (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119750838630225395.html) By David Rogers | Wall Street Journal, Dec 13, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Democrats took control of Congress last January promising a "new direction." A year later, the image that haunts them most is one symbolizing no direction at all: gridlock.
Unfinished work is piling up -- legislation to aid borrowers affected by the housing mess, rescue millions of middle-class families from a big tax increase and put stricter gas-mileage limits on the auto industry. Two months into the new fiscal year, Democrats are still scrambling just to keep the government open.
President Bush and Republicans are contributing to the impasse, but there's another factor: Intraparty squabbling between House Democrats and Senate Democrats is sometimes almost as fierce as the partisan battling.
A fracas between Democrats this week over a proposed $522 billion spending package is the latest example. The spending would keep the government running through the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 2008, but it has opened party divisions over funding the Iraq war and lawmakers' home-state projects.
After enjoying an early rise, Congress's approval ratings have fallen since the spring amid the rancor. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, just 19% of respondents said they approved of the job Congress is doing, while 68% disapproved.
Democrats are hoping to get a boost by enacting the tougher auto- mileage standards before Christmas, but other matters, such as a farm bill to continue government price supports, are likely to wait for the new year.
Republicans suffered from the same House-Senate tensions in their 12 years of rule in Congress. But the situation is more acute now for Democrats, who must cope with both Mr. Bush's vetoes and the narrowest of margins in the Senate, leaving them vulnerable to Republican filibusters.
Democrats in the House interpret the 2006 elections as a mandate for change. They are more antiwar and more willing to shed old ways -- such as "earmarks" for legislators' pet projects -- to confront the White House. Senate Democrats, by comparison, remain more tied to tradition and institutional rules that demand consensus before taking action.
"The Senate and House are out of phase with one another," says Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. "There was a big change last year, a big change that affected the whole House and one-third of the Senate. That's the fundamental disconnect."
Rather than move to the center after 2006, President Bush has moved right to shore up his conservative base. He has also adopted a confrontational veto strategy calculated to disrupt the new Congress and reduce its effectiveness in challenging him on Iraq.
Just yesterday, the president issued his second veto of Democrat- backed legislation to expand government-provided health insurance for the children of working-class families. In his first six years as president, Mr. Bush issued only one veto. Since Democrats took over Congress, he has issued six vetoes, and threats of more hang over the budget talks now.
For Democrats, teamwork is vital to challenging the president, and it's not always forthcoming. A comment by Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, suggests the distant relationship between the two houses. "We have a constitutional responsibility to send legislation over there," said Rep. Rangel. "Quite frankly I don't give a damn what they feel."
Adds Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee: "I can tell you when bills will move and you can tell me when the Senate will sell us out."
With 2008 an election year overseen by a lame-duck president, it's unlikely that Congress will be able to break out of its slump.
Sometimes the disputes resemble play-acting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has quietly invited House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Cal.) to blame the Senate if it suits her purpose to explain the slow pace of legislation, according to a person close to Sen. Reid.
At the same time, he can use her as his foil to fend off Republican demands in the Senate: "I can't control Speaker Pelosi," he said last week in debate on an energy bill. "She is a strong independent woman. She runs the House with an iron hand."
Still, the interchamber differences have real consequences, as seen in the fight over the budget.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd of West Virginia long argued against creating a big package that would combine all the main spending bills. He preferred to confront Mr. Bush with a series of targeted individual bills where he could gain some Republican support and maintain leverage over the president. But Mr. Byrd was undercut by his leadership's failure to allow more time for debate on the Senate floor. After Labor Day, the House began pressing for a single large package.
The $522 billion proposed bill ultimately emerged from weeks of talks that included moderate Republicans. The bill cut $10.6 billion from earlier spending proposals, moving closer to Mr. Bush, while giving him new money he wanted for the State Department as well as a border-security initiative.
No new money was provided specifically for Iraq but the bill gives the Pentagon an additional $31 billion for the war in Afghanistan and body armor for troops in the field. The goal was to provide enough money for Army accounts so its funding would be adequate into April, when a fuller debate could be held on the U.S.'s plans in Iraq.
For Senate Democrats and Mr. Byrd, the effort was a gamble that a moderate center could be found to stand up to Mr. Bush. The more combative Mr. Obey, the House appropriations chairman, was never persuaded this could happen.
After the White House announced its opposition over the weekend, Mr. Obey said Monday that the budget proposal was dead unless changes were made. The effect was to divide Democrats again, instead of putting up a united front against the White House's resistance.
Mr. Obey suggested that lawmakers should be willing to strip out home-state projects, acceding to Mr. Bush's tight line on spending, if that's what it took to make a tough stand on Iraq.
"I am perfectly willing to lose every dollar on the domestic side of the ledger in order to avoid giving them money for the war without conditions," Mr. Obey said. His suggestion met strong resistance from Senate Democrats. At a party luncheon, senators were almost comic in their anger, said one colleague who was present, loudly complaining of being reduced to being "puppets" or "slaves."
On the Senate floor yesterday, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Democrats were showing signs of "attention deficit disorder." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, accused the new majority of being more interested in "finger pointing" and "headlines" than legislation. "It won't get bills signed into law," he said.
While Ms. Pelosi had personally supported Mr. Obey's approach, she instructed the House committee to preserve the projects as it began a second round of spending reductions yesterday, cutting an additional $6.9 billion from the $522 billion package.
The Senate committee's Democratic staff joined in the discussions by evening, but the White House denied reports that a deal had been reached at a spending ceiling above the president's initial request.
If agreement is not reached by the end of next week, lawmakers may have to resort again to a yearlong funding resolution that effectively freezes most agencies at their current levels. This would be a repeat of the collapse of the budget process last year under Republican rule -- not the "new direction" Democrats had hoped for.
Tied in Knots
The House and Senate are struggling to complete several matters before they head home this month.
Appropriations: Only the Pentagon budget is in place for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The House and Senate are struggling to finish a bill covering the rest of the government.
Farm bill: The Senate still hopes to complete its version of a farm bill but negotiations with the House will wait until next year.
AMT relief: The House and Senate have passed legislation limiting the alternative minimum tax's hit on millions of middle-class taxpayers. But they differ about whether to offset the lost revenue.
Medicare: Doctors are set to see a cut in Medicare payments in 2008, which lawmakers want to prevent. The House acted, but Senate hasn't yet.
Housing: Several bills addressing the housing crisis have passed the House but are languishing in the Senate.
WASHINGTON -- Democrats took control of Congress last January promising a "new direction." A year later, the image that haunts them most is one symbolizing no direction at all: gridlock.
Unfinished work is piling up -- legislation to aid borrowers affected by the housing mess, rescue millions of middle-class families from a big tax increase and put stricter gas-mileage limits on the auto industry. Two months into the new fiscal year, Democrats are still scrambling just to keep the government open.
President Bush and Republicans are contributing to the impasse, but there's another factor: Intraparty squabbling between House Democrats and Senate Democrats is sometimes almost as fierce as the partisan battling.
A fracas between Democrats this week over a proposed $522 billion spending package is the latest example. The spending would keep the government running through the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 2008, but it has opened party divisions over funding the Iraq war and lawmakers' home-state projects.
After enjoying an early rise, Congress's approval ratings have fallen since the spring amid the rancor. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, just 19% of respondents said they approved of the job Congress is doing, while 68% disapproved.
Democrats are hoping to get a boost by enacting the tougher auto- mileage standards before Christmas, but other matters, such as a farm bill to continue government price supports, are likely to wait for the new year.
Republicans suffered from the same House-Senate tensions in their 12 years of rule in Congress. But the situation is more acute now for Democrats, who must cope with both Mr. Bush's vetoes and the narrowest of margins in the Senate, leaving them vulnerable to Republican filibusters.
Democrats in the House interpret the 2006 elections as a mandate for change. They are more antiwar and more willing to shed old ways -- such as "earmarks" for legislators' pet projects -- to confront the White House. Senate Democrats, by comparison, remain more tied to tradition and institutional rules that demand consensus before taking action.
"The Senate and House are out of phase with one another," says Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. "There was a big change last year, a big change that affected the whole House and one-third of the Senate. That's the fundamental disconnect."
Rather than move to the center after 2006, President Bush has moved right to shore up his conservative base. He has also adopted a confrontational veto strategy calculated to disrupt the new Congress and reduce its effectiveness in challenging him on Iraq.
Just yesterday, the president issued his second veto of Democrat- backed legislation to expand government-provided health insurance for the children of working-class families. In his first six years as president, Mr. Bush issued only one veto. Since Democrats took over Congress, he has issued six vetoes, and threats of more hang over the budget talks now.
For Democrats, teamwork is vital to challenging the president, and it's not always forthcoming. A comment by Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, suggests the distant relationship between the two houses. "We have a constitutional responsibility to send legislation over there," said Rep. Rangel. "Quite frankly I don't give a damn what they feel."
Adds Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee: "I can tell you when bills will move and you can tell me when the Senate will sell us out."
With 2008 an election year overseen by a lame-duck president, it's unlikely that Congress will be able to break out of its slump.
Sometimes the disputes resemble play-acting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has quietly invited House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Cal.) to blame the Senate if it suits her purpose to explain the slow pace of legislation, according to a person close to Sen. Reid.
At the same time, he can use her as his foil to fend off Republican demands in the Senate: "I can't control Speaker Pelosi," he said last week in debate on an energy bill. "She is a strong independent woman. She runs the House with an iron hand."
Still, the interchamber differences have real consequences, as seen in the fight over the budget.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd of West Virginia long argued against creating a big package that would combine all the main spending bills. He preferred to confront Mr. Bush with a series of targeted individual bills where he could gain some Republican support and maintain leverage over the president. But Mr. Byrd was undercut by his leadership's failure to allow more time for debate on the Senate floor. After Labor Day, the House began pressing for a single large package.
The $522 billion proposed bill ultimately emerged from weeks of talks that included moderate Republicans. The bill cut $10.6 billion from earlier spending proposals, moving closer to Mr. Bush, while giving him new money he wanted for the State Department as well as a border-security initiative.
No new money was provided specifically for Iraq but the bill gives the Pentagon an additional $31 billion for the war in Afghanistan and body armor for troops in the field. The goal was to provide enough money for Army accounts so its funding would be adequate into April, when a fuller debate could be held on the U.S.'s plans in Iraq.
For Senate Democrats and Mr. Byrd, the effort was a gamble that a moderate center could be found to stand up to Mr. Bush. The more combative Mr. Obey, the House appropriations chairman, was never persuaded this could happen.
After the White House announced its opposition over the weekend, Mr. Obey said Monday that the budget proposal was dead unless changes were made. The effect was to divide Democrats again, instead of putting up a united front against the White House's resistance.
Mr. Obey suggested that lawmakers should be willing to strip out home-state projects, acceding to Mr. Bush's tight line on spending, if that's what it took to make a tough stand on Iraq.
"I am perfectly willing to lose every dollar on the domestic side of the ledger in order to avoid giving them money for the war without conditions," Mr. Obey said. His suggestion met strong resistance from Senate Democrats. At a party luncheon, senators were almost comic in their anger, said one colleague who was present, loudly complaining of being reduced to being "puppets" or "slaves."
On the Senate floor yesterday, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Democrats were showing signs of "attention deficit disorder." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, accused the new majority of being more interested in "finger pointing" and "headlines" than legislation. "It won't get bills signed into law," he said.
While Ms. Pelosi had personally supported Mr. Obey's approach, she instructed the House committee to preserve the projects as it began a second round of spending reductions yesterday, cutting an additional $6.9 billion from the $522 billion package.
The Senate committee's Democratic staff joined in the discussions by evening, but the White House denied reports that a deal had been reached at a spending ceiling above the president's initial request.
If agreement is not reached by the end of next week, lawmakers may have to resort again to a yearlong funding resolution that effectively freezes most agencies at their current levels. This would be a repeat of the collapse of the budget process last year under Republican rule -- not the "new direction" Democrats had hoped for.
Tied in Knots
The House and Senate are struggling to complete several matters before they head home this month.
Appropriations: Only the Pentagon budget is in place for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The House and Senate are struggling to finish a bill covering the rest of the government.
Farm bill: The Senate still hopes to complete its version of a farm bill but negotiations with the House will wait until next year.
AMT relief: The House and Senate have passed legislation limiting the alternative minimum tax's hit on millions of middle-class taxpayers. But they differ about whether to offset the lost revenue.
Medicare: Doctors are set to see a cut in Medicare payments in 2008, which lawmakers want to prevent. The House acted, but Senate hasn't yet.
Housing: Several bills addressing the housing crisis have passed the House but are languishing in the Senate.
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little_willy
02-19 02:55 PM
I was in a similar situation and my lawyer advised to apply for H1 (come April) even without the H4 extension. A query will be sent asking to prove your status until atleast Sep 30th. You can then attach your H4 papers (assuming your H4 extn is approved by then).
Anyway, i am planning to apply for extension using premium processing just to make sure things progress smoothly.
Anyway, i am planning to apply for extension using premium processing just to make sure things progress smoothly.
salvador marley
05-01 10:05 PM
removed - not liked so removed
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bharat2008
04-18 12:14 PM
Hello Gurus ,
I am looking for H1 Transfer with 4 months left in H1 six year limit .I lost my job 10 days back.I have approved I-140 but its has not been six months yet after approval .I have not yet filed 485 .
Will I qualify for 3 year H1 extension based on my approved I-140 .?
Thank you in advance
I am looking for H1 Transfer with 4 months left in H1 six year limit .I lost my job 10 days back.I have approved I-140 but its has not been six months yet after approval .I have not yet filed 485 .
Will I qualify for 3 year H1 extension based on my approved I-140 .?
Thank you in advance
more...
rabsam17
07-01 07:56 PM
My EAD expired in June 2007? I want to get EAD now. Bymistake I discarded my expired ead which is needed for renewal? Should I apply for its renewal or a new one?
mashu
05-10 12:29 PM
Greetings,
please advise what steps should be taken if I recieved the NL letter from KCC that I am selected for 2011 DV lottery.
I am in AOS in EB3 category, my H1B already expired, working on EAD.
My case number from DV lottery is very high (29***).
What should I choose - CP or AOS???
Should I fill and return back to KCC both forms - DSP-122 and DS-230 forms??? :confused:
Thanks and best regards...
please advise what steps should be taken if I recieved the NL letter from KCC that I am selected for 2011 DV lottery.
I am in AOS in EB3 category, my H1B already expired, working on EAD.
My case number from DV lottery is very high (29***).
What should I choose - CP or AOS???
Should I fill and return back to KCC both forms - DSP-122 and DS-230 forms??? :confused:
Thanks and best regards...
more...
ragz4u
02-05 04:47 PM
We are pleased to announce that renowned author and economist Dr. Richard Florida has endorsed the efforts of the folks at www.immigrationvoice.org
You can read the bio of Dr. Richard here http://www.creativeclass.org/_flight_author.shtml
The text of the endorsement can be seen here http://www.immigrationvoice.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=43
You can read the bio of Dr. Richard here http://www.creativeclass.org/_flight_author.shtml
The text of the endorsement can be seen here http://www.immigrationvoice.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=43
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Krilnon
07-30 03:00 AM
Basically everyone has experienced at least one version of the Falling Snow tutorial� It just so happens that you can see the progress that ActionScript has made as a language� as well as the progress that Kirupa has made in making tutorials. :trout:
I went with the 2.0-style snow because it translates best into shirt form. Enjoy!
http://reclipse.net/kirupa/tdc10/kril-fallingSnow_2.0.png
http://reclipse.net/kirupa/tdc10/kril-fallingSnow_2.0.png
I went with the 2.0-style snow because it translates best into shirt form. Enjoy!
http://reclipse.net/kirupa/tdc10/kril-fallingSnow_2.0.png
http://reclipse.net/kirupa/tdc10/kril-fallingSnow_2.0.png
more...
zephyrus
11-18 01:55 PM
I had not heard of this site until I did a search for legal immigration ... seems to have some interesting publications/policy papers etc.
http://www.cis.org/
-zeph
http://www.cis.org/
-zeph
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kirupa
05-19 08:49 AM
Hey afterhourz,
Select all the cubes and go to Modify | Group. It should group the cubes as one object. Now, when you animate them, the whole group of cubes will animate in sync with the rest.
Select all the cubes and go to Modify | Group. It should group the cubes as one object. Now, when you animate them, the whole group of cubes will animate in sync with the rest.
more...
bugsbunny
04-16 09:20 PM
Can you use your spouse's cross-changeability after you have filed for your I-140 already ? How time consuming is this for the USCIS to acknowledge ?
i am quite sure you can...infact you can do this at any stage including after filing I-485.
please verify with an attorney...you will need one to do it correctly.
i am quite sure you can...infact you can do this at any stage including after filing I-485.
please verify with an attorney...you will need one to do it correctly.
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Blog Feeds
11-08 03:30 PM
As many of our clients have experienced first-hand, unannounced H-1B site visits are well under way through USCIS' Office of Fraud Detection and National Security ("FDNS"). Such site visits may occur at the H-1B employer's principal place of business and/or at the H-1B nonimmigrant's work location, as indicated on the filed Form I-129 petition (regardless of whether the work location is controlled by the H-1B employer). While one may question the legitimacy of such an intrusion on the workplace without warning, FDNS has indicated that it does not require a subpoena to conduct such an unannounced site visit. This assertion...
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/h1bvisablog/2009/11/ready-or-not-here-come-the-h-1b-site-visits.html)
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/h1bvisablog/2009/11/ready-or-not-here-come-the-h-1b-site-visits.html)
more...
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canant
01-14 09:44 PM
Hi,
I want to ask whether this new Memo for validity of employer-employee relationship is being questioned in case of Port of Entry for existing Stamped H1b holders who are planning their short visit to go and come back in US.
Thank you in advance
I want to ask whether this new Memo for validity of employer-employee relationship is being questioned in case of Port of Entry for existing Stamped H1b holders who are planning their short visit to go and come back in US.
Thank you in advance
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go_guy123
12-11 09:20 AM
This is my first post.
The green card backlog situation seems hopeless to me.
Is this organization working to get the
totalization agreement done so that at least we get some of the money that
we paid as taxes(but get no benefit in return).
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
The green card backlog situation seems hopeless to me.
Is this organization working to get the
totalization agreement done so that at least we get some of the money that
we paid as taxes(but get no benefit in return).
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
more...
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rajeshalex
09-16 04:47 AM
Ask your brother to get a leave letter from his company. It should help.
Rajesh
Rajesh
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stxvr
12-10 08:50 PM
I am on H1B extension. Means my stamp is expired.
I have a ticket to go to India. I am traveling through the following route
Boston- London- Bahrain - Bombay.
I heard that I need to have transit visa for UK as my connection is in UK (2 Hrs).
I don't have the UK visa and I will not have the US visa at the time of entry in UK.
I have very sort time now in my hand.
1. I really need to have the UK transit visa?
2. Yes then how to get this?
What should I do now?
I have a ticket to go to India. I am traveling through the following route
Boston- London- Bahrain - Bombay.
I heard that I need to have transit visa for UK as my connection is in UK (2 Hrs).
I don't have the UK visa and I will not have the US visa at the time of entry in UK.
I have very sort time now in my hand.
1. I really need to have the UK transit visa?
2. Yes then how to get this?
What should I do now?
more...
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pappu
07-27 11:57 AM
http://immigrationvoice.org/wiki/index.php/AC21
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
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Blog Feeds
05-30 12:30 PM
A traitorous American general hanged for aiding the British during the Revolutionary War -- one Benedict Arnold -- said rather cynically: "Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained." This quote came to mind in scanning the latest developments in dysfunctional immigration: With a rider passed by the House to a defense appropriations bill, Congress is poised to approve the phased elimination of the U.S. military's "Don't Ask. Don't Tell" policy. House leaders champion its action as a long-overdue recognition of the civil rights of gay soldiers. Yet the civil rights of binational gay lovers -- trashed by the...
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/angelopaparelli/2010/05/immigration-policy-boldly-asserted-implausibly-maintained.html)
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/angelopaparelli/2010/05/immigration-policy-boldly-asserted-implausibly-maintained.html)
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vpadman
12-13 06:36 PM
Applied AP on August 15,2007.
Notice Date is October 10, 2007.
Still waiting for AP
Notice Date is October 10, 2007.
Still waiting for AP
Blog Feeds
09-09 07:20 AM
Nextgov.com reports: The Homeland Security Department plans to establish a database of immigration data that will identify fraud in applications for benefits, and provide information to intelligence and law enforcement agencies. DHS will create a mirror copy of multiple databases the Citizenship and Immigration Services uses to award federal benefits to immigrants and nonimmigrants and develop a single user interface employees use to access the stored information, according to a notice the department published in theFederal Register on Wednesday. The Citizenship and Immigration Data Repository System of Records, which will include real-time updates and a search engine, will allow officials...
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2010/09/dhs-to-develop-single-searchable-immigration-database.html)
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2010/09/dhs-to-develop-single-searchable-immigration-database.html)
marty
06-17 01:21 PM
I Just learnt that the Name Check for my I-485 was processed under a different Alien number when it should be processed by alien number assigned in I-485 case. Since it was cleared under a different number (probably the one for I-140), I-485 file did not have this information and now they are getting it fixed. So when everything in my case is current, this came up right at the time when they will almost be getting out of visa #s. :(
I recommend you should all contact your service centers where your I-485 was filed and make sure that yoru name check is in process or got processed under correct alien number. If the service center refuse to provide any information, contact your congressman office and have them verify this information. You can find who is your local congressman by going to http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.
I recommend you should all contact your service centers where your I-485 was filed and make sure that yoru name check is in process or got processed under correct alien number. If the service center refuse to provide any information, contact your congressman office and have them verify this information. You can find who is your local congressman by going to http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.
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