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October 9, 2006
Secure Fence Act Has Secure Support

Yesterday I analyzed the possibility that the lack of a presidential signature on the Secure Fence Act (HR 6061) might be an attempt at a pocket veto. President Bush has never given very enthusiastic support to any border solution that didn't include a plan for normalization for illegal immigrants already inside the US. Mickey Kaus started counting the days since Congress passed the bill and wondered whether the White House had decided to simply ignore the bill to death.

I took a few minutes at my lunch break to contact a senior staffer on the Hill who has worked the immigration issue. He told me that, as some CQ commenters had speculated, Congress has not formally sent the bill to the President. That means the clock has not started for his signature. The 10-day period starts only after Congress formally prints and delivers the bill for the President to sign into law.

Why has Congress waited? The Secure Fence Act, which requires that the border barrier be constructed, is a very high priority for Republican leadership in both chambers. They and the White House want to schedule the signing for what they see as the maximum impact to the midterm elections. This means waiting for other stories to fall off the front pages. My source told me that the terrorist detention and interrogation bill will be signed on October 17th, and they want this to come after that.

Expect to see this get signed somewhere between October 24th and November 1st. The White House considers this bill a front-and-center accomplishment and wants the boost to last all the way through Election Day. Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress (especially Bill Frist, I'm told) want this to get as much coverage as possible. After the signing ceremony, expect to see this bill get trumpeted in the final advertising push for all Republican incumbents running for re-election.

No one on the Hill or in the White House has missed the message from the base. Everyone understands the importance of signing this legislation for the midterms. My impression is that they didn't realize that people expected the bill to get signed at the same time as the Homeland Security appropriation, and now they understand the confusion. Bottom line: the Secure Fence Act will get signed into law.

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at October 9, 2006 6:00 PM

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» Liberals at Slate faking out Conservatives on Secure Fence Act of 2006 by saying Bush will “Pocket Veto” the bill from Left Wing = Hate
This is another Election year “October Suprise” by liberals hoping to disenfranchise and disenchant Conservatives, in this case, they are using a “NON-Enrolled” bill from Congress to fake out people. Basically the bill called &#... [Read More]

Tracked on October 9, 2006 6:49 PM

» Illegal Immigration Watch: President Bush WILL Sign Secure Borders Act from FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
Members of the U.S. National Guard work along a new border fence near the U.S.-Mexico border in Otay Mesa, San Diego July 21, 2006. No Pocket Veto. The President will sign the Secure Borders Act. Some are still NOT convinced. This news is good enough ... [Read More]

Tracked on October 9, 2006 6:53 PM

» Hold Up On The Fence Security Act from Hang Right Politics
For those concerned about the immigration issue and are wondering why there’s no news on the Fence, Captain’s Quarters has the answer. I took a few minutes at my lunch break to contact a senior staffer on the Hill who has worked the immigra... [Read More]

Tracked on October 9, 2006 9:28 PM

» Hold Up On The Fence Security Act from Hang Right Politics
For those concerned about the immigration issue and are wondering why there’s no news on the Fence, Captain’s Quarters has the answer. I took a few minutes at my lunch break to contact a senior staffer on the Hill who has worked the immigra... [Read More]

Tracked on October 9, 2006 9:28 PM

» Time to get serious about the elections from MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Down to the wire, y’all…and some of these races are reeeeally close. The Senate: The House: I don’t think it’s possible to overstate how important this election is. I’ve said it countless times–there’s... [Read More]

Tracked on October 10, 2006 3:59 AM

» The fence to nowhere.... from Two Babes and a Brain
Yesterday, the conservative world was up in arms because they thought President Bush was going to pocket veto the Secure Fence Act. There was a lot of yelling and stamping of feet that President Bush was screwing over the base...well, [Read More]

Tracked on October 10, 2006 5:48 AM

» The Border Fence Bill Will Be Signed from Stop The ACLU
I never wrote about the speculation by Mickey Kaus on a pocket veto of the Border Fence Bill because I really didn’t understand it and I didn’t want to jump the gun. Well, according to Captain Ed, the Presiden’t support for this is ... [Read More]

Tracked on October 10, 2006 8:47 AM

» The Border Fence Bill Will Be Signed from Stop The ACLU
I never wrote about the speculation by Mickey Kaus on a pocket veto of the Border Fence Bill because I really didn’t understand it and I didn’t want to jump the gun. Well, according to Captain Ed, the Presiden’t support for this is secure. [Read More]

Tracked on October 10, 2006 9:46 AM

» Liberals Are Like Teenagers from Church and State
The teens make us nervous every time they open their mouths, they blame everything on parents, they want us to be "fair", they want us pay for everything, and they think they know everything. [Read More]

Tracked on October 10, 2006 11:07 AM

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