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发帖数: 3922 | 1 Two of California's biggest industries -- tech and agriculture -- are
gearing up for an immigration reform battle in the U.S. House of
Representatives. They are targeting those lawmakers who can help get a bill
passed by going around the Republican majority.
The U.S. Senate passed an immigration bill before the July recess that, by
and large, the high-tech and agricultural lobbies like.
Pro-immigration reform optimists say momentum is now high and different from
2007, when the House failed to pass a bill. This time, they say,
Republicans will have to bend to the Hispanic vote and America's need for
human capital.
Not everyone agrees. Emily Lam, who directs federal issues at the Silicon
Valley Leadership Group, says, "This notion that they'll just see the light.
No way! I wish, but it's not happening."
Lam is taking two tacks. First, targeting the House Majority Whip Kevin
McCarthy. The Bakersfield Representative has a lot of influence over younger
Congressional Representatives who, Lam hopes, understand that immigrants
keep the economy competitive.
"Freshman Republicans are more willing to vote for something like this than
some of the other House Republicans," Lam says.
Secondly, Lam is adding evangelical ministers and agriculture leaders to her
delegations of Silicon Valley CEOs making lobbying trips to Washington, D.C
. She wants to show House Speaker John Boehner that there's a united front.
"I think when we go in there and we sit down with Boehner or with McCarthy,
and it's ag and high-tech, just a different configuration of people saying
the same thing,” Lam explains, “[it’s] the more the merrier." |
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