update on minimum wage bill amendment

Date: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 2:02 AM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1636 -- 2/06/2007 >>>>>

For those of you who just want the short version, here it is: The Kennedy
amendment to the minimum wage bill was tabled. That means for now there
will be no H-1B increase, no H-5 visa, and no amnesty.

This story begs many questions, and should be a siren cry that the
cheap-labor lobby is going to continue to try to pass some form of guest
worker legislation. I doubt this will be Kennedy's last attempt at sneaking
the McCain/Kennedy bill through Congress.

Before I go further, let me clarify and correct some information from the
earlier newsletters.

* The Kennedy amendment was SA180, not SA187.

* SA180 was tabled and was never voted on.

* At this point in time it's very unlikely that immigration changes can be
sneaked into the minimum wage bill.

For those of you that like to dig into policy, read on. Don't expect any of
this to make things clearer though.

<<<<< HOW TO VERIFY THAT 180 WAS TABLED >>>>>

1) Go to http://thomas.loc.gov/

2) Click the link for "congressional record"

3) Enter "sa 180" into the search engine without quotes.

4) Click this link: AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED AND PROPOSED -- (Senate - January
24, 2007)"

You should see a page with the following information:

AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED AND PROPOSED -- (Senate - January 24, 2007)
SA 180 . Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 143 submitted by Mr. SESSIONS and intended to be proposed to
the bill H.R. 2, supra; which was ordered to lie on the table.

<<<<< HOW TO VERIFY THAT SA 180 HAS THE McCain/Kennedy IMMIGRATION
LEGISLATION >>>>>

Follow steps 1-3 above

4) click this link: "TEXT OF AMENDMENTS -- (Senate - January 24, 2007)"

5) click the link: "Page: S1088"

Scroll down the page until you see this:

SA 180 . Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 143 submitted by Mr. SESSIONS and intended to be proposed to
the bill H.R. 2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide
for an increase in the Federal minimum wage; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:

In lieu of the matter to be inserted, insert the following:

DIVISION B--IMMIGRATION REFORM

SECTION 1001. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

<<<<< SO WHAT ABOUT AMMENDMENT 187? >>>>>

Folks, this is where things get weird. I have received so much conflicting
information I really don't know what to think. If any of you can make sense
of it, let me know!

1) Go to http://thomas.loc.gov/

2) Enter "h.r. 2" without quotes

3) Select bill number radio button.

4) Click the search button.

5) Click: "Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)[H.R.2.IH]"
This is the first bill in the House.

6) Click: "Bill Summary & Status"

7) Click: "Amendments"

8) Click: "87. S.AMDT.187 to H.R.2 In the nature of a substitute."

9) Click: "S.AMDT.112". You will see this:

AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
To prevent the closure and defunding of certain women's business centers.

10) Hit your back arrow to get back to step 8

11) Click "S1121". You will see links to loads of immigration stuff. If you
are now wondering if 187 is a women's issue, or if it's an immigration
amendment, you are not alone! If you want to know why I got confused on
whether the amendment was 180 or 187, this is it.

Now go back to #5 so that we can click on a later version of the bill.

5) Click: "Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R.
2) entitled `An Act to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to
provide for an increase in the Federal minimum... (Engrossed Amendment as
Agreed to by Senate)[H.R.2.EAS]"

6) Click: "Bill Summary & Status"

7) Click: "Amendments"

8) Play around with 112, 180, and 187. You will see some differences. Have
fun! It's a maze that will drive you nutty.

<<<<< OTHER IMMIGRATION STUFF OF INTEREST >>>>>

Go back to step #9 and look for this amendment. It was an attempt to make
it more difficult to totalize our social security system. In simple terms
"totalization" is an attempt to merge our Social Security system with
Mexico.

53. S.AMDT.153 to H.R.2 To preserve and protect Social Security benefits of
American workers, including those making minimum wage, and to help ensure
greater Congressional oversight of the Social Security system by requiring
that both Houses of Congress approve a totalization agreement before the
agreement, giving foreign workers Social Security benefits, can go into
effect.
Sponsor: Sen Ensign, John [NV] (introduced 1/23/2007) Cosponsors (8)
Latest Major Action: 1/31/2007 Proposed amendment SA 153 withdrawn in
Senate.

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