…with the illegal alien amnesty bill that the Senate Judiciary Committee passed this evening:

“All Americans wanted fairness and they got it this evening,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who played a pivotal role in drafting the legislation.

I guess if you think “fairness” and “Edward M. Kennedy” can co-exist in the same sentence without snorting, you’ll be happy with the bill, too.

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Numbers USA has the lowdown on the bill:

On March 27, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed by a 12-6 vote a McCain-Kennedy-style amnesty and temporary bill (no bill number). It may be amended into Sen. Bill Frist’s (R-TN) bill, S 2454, as soon as March 28 on the Senate floor. The plan incorporates: (1) a new “temporary” agricultural worker program (as proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]); (2) another “guestworker” visa program “capped” at 400,000 per year (as proposed by Sen. Ted Kennedy [D-MA]); and (3) an amnesty for illegal aliens who have worked in the United States for six years and who wait another five before applying for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence, provided the illegal alien pays $2,000 in fines, has a background check done, and demonstrates a working knowledge of English (as proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC]). Other bad “reforms” include an amendment by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to de-criminalize illegal presence and another by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) to open up more visas for alien nurses as long as related shortages exist. Amendments to curb the overall impact of these visa and citizenship giveaways offered by Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) were defeated. The full Senate may have as much as two weeks to consider amendments on the floor.

Action page here.

What’s next:

On March 28, Sen. Frist will call up his bill for a vote on cloture. If successful, the vote will cut off debate and allow the consideration of amendments. Media reports have suggested Sen. Frist will keep his bill on the Senate floor for as long as two weeks. That would likely give the Senate Judiciary Committee enough time to complete action on its bill. Media reports also have suggested Sen. Frist would amend the committee-passed bill onto his.

No word is available as of this writing as to how Sen. Frist plans to proceed. Given the two-week timeframe, Senate floor action on S. 2454 may come in dribs and drabs.

More news coverage here.

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