In the 50-50 deadlocked Senate, all focus continues to be on passage of the infrastructure package. The bill, negotiated by senators in both parties, contains $550 billion in new spending for roads, bridges, airports, harbors, and public transit. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to have the Senate version passed within the next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senators are currently in the process of offering\namendments to the legislation. Two Republicans each offered an amendment\nrelated to immigration enforcement and border security, but failed to reach the\nnecessary 60-vote threshold for inclusion in the package. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) introduced S.Amndt. 2245<\/a>, which would have prohibited the cancellation of previously-appropriated contracts for the border wall. This is in direct response to the Biden administration\u2019s wasteful cancellation<\/a> of billions in border security spending that the previous Congress already appropriated American tax dollars for. The Senate voted down this amendment by a vote of 48-49<\/a>, with three senators not voting. Intriguingly, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) voted in favor of this common-sense amendment, and was the only Democrat to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second immigration-related amendment came from Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.). His amendment, S.Amndt. 2233<\/a>, would have prohibited Federal funding for any entity that fails to enroll in and comply with the E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is a free and successful online program that allows employers to instantly check a prospective employee\u2019s I-9 form against records from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Studies show that E-Verify is effective at deterring illegal hiring<\/a> and actually reduces the population of illegal aliens in states and localities where its use is mandatory for all employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n