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MAY 23, 2005
Edited by Richard S. Dunham Immigration: Can McCain Unite The GOP? For more than a year, business has watched with dismay as President Bush's attempts to liberalize immigration laws, including a new guest-worker program, have been frustrated by religious conservatives and America First hawks demanding an end to a growing flood of illegal immigrants from south of the border. But now business has a glimmer of hope that the deep differences among Republicans can be bridged. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), an early front-runner for the 2008 GOP Presidential nomination, is trying to bring peace to the party by plucking ideas from both warring camps. He is combining the enhanced enforcement stick demanded by foes of illegal immigration with the carrot of legalization for many of the 11 million undocumented aliens already in the U.S., a change sought by business. For good measure, McCain invited Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to co-sponsor the still-unfinished legislation -- a move that could add a crucial bloc of Democratic votes to offset GOP defections. For McCain, the stakes are high. A legislative triumph that unites the party's diverse elements could help propel a Presidential campaign. But if the best chance to pass comprehensive immigration reform since 1986 ends in discord, White House strategists fear a backlash among Latinos, now the nation's largest minority group, that would reverse Republican gains in the 2004 elections. The basics of McCain's plan: Business gets ready access to an expanding pool of documented "guest workers," mostly from Mexico, while some illegals already in the U.S. become eligible for permanent residency -- depending on whether they have kept out of trouble and paid their taxes. Big winners include U.S. fruit and vegetable farmers, hotel and restaurant owners, and construction and light-manufacturing companies. To attract hardliners, McCain would boost fines for employers who knowingly hire illegals and would introduce a new database that employers could use to check the immigration status of job applicants. McCain is considering eventually making immigration status checks mandatory -- something business has fiercely resisted. He is also pushing for enhanced patrols and the use of more pilotless surveillance aircraft along the Mexican border. A SKEPTICAL PUBLIC That may not be enough to satisfy conservative critics. "If the plan is to have a massive amnesty and guest-worker plan and then throw in some enforcement and see if that works -- well, it won't," says Rosemary Jenks, director for government relations at Numbers USA, a nonpartisan group that advocates reduced immigration. The public remains skeptical, too. A Mar. 31-Apr. 3 NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll found that 53% of the public opposes Bush's smaller plan to grant worker status temporarily to some illegals, with just 43% in favor. Still, the McCain plan could succeed as part of a larger set of trade-offs. In recent weeks, Bush reluctantly agreed to support the "Real ID" act, which makes it harder for illegals to get state drivers' licenses or to qualify for asylum status. His support came after a series of compromises that included the addition of 20,000 new temporary visas for foreigners graduating from U.S. universities with advanced degrees. Is this the beginning of a Republican rapprochement? Maybe. The 1986 act took five years to accomplish. McCain is hoping to cut that in half. By Paul Magnusson CAPITAL WRAPUP Cracking Down On Business Tax Cheats Corporate chieftains who thought their problems ended with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are in for a surprise from Capitol Hill. The $295 billion highway bill sent to the Senate floor contains two provisions that crack down on business tax cheats. One measure would require CEOs to personally certify their companies' tax returns, with penalties for perjury. The second would create a new Whistleblowers Office at the Internal Revenue Service to encourage tips on "corporations and wealthy individuals who have a significant unpaid tax liability." Congress hopes the new office will net $407 million over 10 years. The Senate Finance Committee, which has been investigating tax shelters, backed the new measures.   CAPITAL WRAPUP Jockeying Begins For Oxley's Job More than a year before Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio) surrenders the gavel of the House Financial Services Committee, potential replacements are already jockeying for position. Oxley must leave because of term limits for House committee chairs imposed by the Republican majority. The early favorite is Richard H. Baker (R-La.), chair of the subcommittee on capital markets. He has taken steps to repair his sometimes-rocky relationship with Oxley, compromising on his bill to overhaul regulation of Fannie Mae (FNM ) and Freddie Mac (FRE ). But two members of the House GOP leadership could still trump Baker if they want the powerful post: Republican Conference Chair Deborah Pryce, an Ohio ally of Oxley's, or House Rules Committee Chair David Dreier (R-Calif.).
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