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Visa Waiver For Poland Amendment Update

30 listopada, -0001

There has been some confusion regarding the Visa Waiver amendment that was adopted by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, May 17, 2006. The visa waiver amendment (S. Amdt. 4000) was in fact attached to the bill sponsored by Senator Specter S. 2611 - Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, and not to Senator Frists bill S. 2454.

Senator Specter's bill S. 2611 is going to a vote as early as next Tuesday, May 23, or as late as next Friday, May 26, as provided to the PAC Washington D.C. by a Legislative Assistant in the Office of Senator Mikulski.

When bill S. 2611 is passed in the Senate, it will go into a Conference committee a procedure allowing selected members of the
House of Representatives and of the Senate to discuss the differences between the original House bill H.R. 4437 and the bill accepted in the Senate, so that both House and the Senate agree on the text of the legislation.

It is already agreed that the composition of the Conference will include 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats from the Senate side, as well as approximately 10-15 Representatives from the House. Although the official lists of conferees were not announced as yet, it is assumed that from the Senate, it will most probably include the top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee: 7 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Names mentioned thus far include Senators Specter (R-PA), Hatch (R-UT), Grassley (R-IA), Kyl (R-AZ), DeWine (R-OH), Sessions (R-AL), Graham (R-SC), and McCain (R-AZ) and Martinez (R-FL), as well as Democrats: Leahy (D-VT), Kennedy (D-MA), Biden (D-DE), Kohl (D-WI), Feinstein (D-CA) and Durbin (D-IL). Potential participants from the House side include Representatives Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Conyers (D-MI), Hastert (R-IL), Berman (D-CA), Delahunt (D-MA), Nadler (D-NY) and Lungren (R-CA).

Since the vote is going to take place so soon, it is urgent for you to voice your support for the Immigration bill by contacting offices of your Senators urging them to vote in support of the S. 2611 as amended. The contact information to your Senators is available at the
U.S. Senate Web listed below, where you can select your state from the top menu. The same information is also available in the blue section of your Yellow Pages.

Please encourage your family, friends and supporters to call their Senators. The greater the number of calls, the better the chance for
passing the bill.

Contact Your United States Senator:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm