Congressman Space won’t force leaderships hand on immigration

From his campaign in 2006 through his seventeen months as a Member of Congress Zack Space has expressed his concern about illegal immigration and his strong desire to secure the border and toughen our nation’s immigration policy.

During the 2006 campaign Space attacked then Congressman Bob Ney for taking a trip to the Arizona border with Mexico. The title of the release was, “Ney Runs To The Border To Escape Failures On Illegal Immigration.” His release said Ney’s “…election year stunts and words of support do not match his actions when it comes to securing our border and providing the hard working federal agents with the funding and training they deserve.” Ney dropped out of race prior to Election Day.

Congressman Zack Space has continued his strong rhetoric on his Congressional web site, “… for too long the issue of illegal immigration has not been properly addressed by Congress, and addressing this issue is one of his top priorities to ensure that illegal immigrants are not taking advantage of taxpayer services.”  

As the election sessions heats up Space has put out several press releases on illegal immigration.  

In addition, as part of Space’s public relations push on the immigration issue he co-sponsored the SAVE act (Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007) introduced by Congressmen Bilbray and Shuler. 

In March of this year Space issued a release expressing his frustration about the lack of progress on the SAVE Act, “Tired of waiting on the House leadership to address America’s illegal immigration crisis, Congressman Zack Space (OH-18) today called upon them to advance a bill that would help combat the nation’s illegal immigration crisis. Space today joined a number of his colleagues in a letter demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer bring up pending legislation quickly that strengthens border security, increases interior enforcement, and cracks down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.” Space continues to express his frustration with the lack of progress.

Later in the month of March Space issued another release stating, “House Leadership Should Have Acted Already.”

Space has frequently expressed his concerns on illegal immigration and his desire for the SAVE Act to come to the House floor for a vote, but the bill is still languishing in committee. 

The reason for the delay on the SAVE Act is very simple. The leadership of the House of Representatives is doing everything in its power to stop the SAVE Act from moving forward. According to an April 14 editorial in The Washington Times: “Mrs. Pelosi wants to bury the bill, but many members of the House Democratic Caucus are under pressure from their constituents to take a tough stand against illegal immigration, so the speaker has sought to find a way to pretend to be taking action while ensuring that H.R. 4088 never sees the light of day. The legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hold hearings on the issue in the coming weeks. In all likelihood, the very liberal committee will find that the legislation has serious problems and requires further "study." Mr. Bilbray and Mr. Shuler have launched a campaign to circumvent the obstructionists by getting 218 signatures on a discharge petition that would permit the legislation to come to the floor for a vote. As of Friday, some 40 House members had cosponsored the SAVE Act, but under pressure from the Democratic leadership had not signed the discharge petition.”

As mentioned in The Washington Times editorial a Discharge Petition would move the bill out of committee and offer a chance for an “up-or-down vote.”  According to Space… “A number of my colleagues and I are tired of waiting for this vital piece of legislation to come up for a vote. That is why we are demanding that House leadership address this issue and give us an up-or-down vote on the bill.”

Space is providing the necessary rhetoric for his constituency. He says he is, “…demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer bring up pending legislation quickly...” The problem for Space is that demanding and forcing House leadership to bring the bill to the floor for a vote are two different things. 

So why doesn’t Space force the issue by signing the discharge petition?

One reason Space may be hesitant to sign the discharge petition and force the Democrat leadership to bring the SAVE Act up for a vote might be their support of his campaigns. Through their campaigns and leadership PAC’s, the Democrat leadership have contributed $122,000 to Space’s congressional campaigns. Leading the way is the Chairman of the Democratic Caucus Rahm Emanuel with $26,000 and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in a close second with $25,000.

Space has said, “My constituents are crying out for action on the illegal immigration issue.” 

So far 189 Members of Congress having signed the discharge petition. Nineteen signatures are needed to reach 218 and bring the SAVE Act to the House floor for a vote.