Name check 實質性進展：$20 million 專款解決delay

眾議院12月17日通過了Omnibus Appropriation Bill。12月18日晚，參議院在附加了$40,000,000的伊拉克戰爭撥款後，也通過了該法案。12月19日晚，眾議院再次投票通過了參議院修改的版本。布什是這次撥款法案的最大贏家。他要求的消減20個billion的預算（都是民主黨需要的）戰爭撥款於撤軍脫鉤都實現了。毫無疑問，他將簽署法案並立刻生效。民主黨這次是慘敗而歸。我們關心的移民條款的命運如何呢？

首先說說name check。我們lobbyist 提出的supervisory review 已經被紐約市的眾議員Clarke 采納進入她的name check solution 條款。上周，Clarke 幾次要求 眾議院Judiciary Committee 和 Appropriation Committee 的leaders 把name check solution 的條款加入 Omnibus。到12月14日，都沒有人說 No。12月17日，Clarke 被告知Omnibus 中包括了name check 的條款（見附錄）：國會將給USCIS撥$20,000,000的專款解決name check delay，並要求USCIS盡快出台解決方案報國會審批。之所以民主黨領導層最終沒有采用supervisory review，lobbyists的分析是他們在刻意避免容易引起爭議的policy 條款，而傾向爭議較少的monetary 條款。

雖然沒有我們解決individual case 的supervisory review，但是這筆巨額專款保證了解決name check delay 的財政基礎。任何形式的name check 改革，包括 Supervisory Review，都需要大筆的撥款。現在有錢在手，USCIS就再也沒有理由拖延改革。明年在USCIS給眾議院Judiciary Committee 提解決方案的時候我們的lobbyists可以進一步要求individual case 的time frame。所以，name check 問題的最終解決指日可待。

我們不敢說這筆專款完全是LIA 的lobbyists的功勞，但是，他們的作用是至關重要的。如果沒有他們的遊說，Clarke的法案一不會采納我們的條款，二不會受到民主黨領導層的重視。而且，民主黨領導層也不會意識到name check delay 的負麵影響，而專款就也就無從談起了。所以，LIA完全可以自豪地說，我們的lobbyists成功影響了立法，合法移民組織作為華人新移民的政治組織第一次發出了聲音，這個聲音被國會聽到了並且采納了！

關於介紹綠卡名額的recapture，不出所料，包括recapture 218,000綠卡名額的Immigration Package 不在Omnibus Appropriation Bill中（見LIA 12月16日的文章）。所以，這次的Omnibus沒有任何關於immigration 的條款，包括nurse recapture。

沒有immigration package, 對我們肯定不是好事。但是，因為布什要的200 billion Iraq funding 這次國會隻給了70 billion。所以明年（可能是二月）將再提Iraq funding bill。作為appropriation bill 的延續，它也會是一個monster bill。到時候recapture 還有機會。05年那次的nurse recapture 就是搭乘在 Iraq Funding bill 上的。

融資雇lobbyist給我們做事不容易，尤其是現在LIA 隻在網上融資。讓lobbyist 把事情做成更不容易。這不是少數幾個人就能搞定的。綠卡排期是大家的問題，LIA是新移民的草根組織，隻有你參與了，貢獻了，LIA才能發展下去。希望各界人士能到LIA 網站上http://www.legalimmigrant.org注冊參加我們在各地的year-end dinner，發展壯大我們的中國人的政治力量，並捐款支持。


附錄：language in Omnibus bill to fix name check delay:

1 TITLE IV
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

For necessary expenses for citizenship and immigration services, $80,973,000: Provided, That of the amount provided under this heading, $80,000,000 is designated as described in section 5ý (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act): Provided jurther, That of the total, $20,000,000 is provided to address backlogs of security checks associated with pending applications and petitions and shall not be available for obligation until the Secretary of Homeland Security and the United States Attorney General submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a plan to eliminate the backlog of security checks that establishes information sharing protocols to ensure United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has the information it needs to carry out its mission: Provided jurther, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds available to United States Citizenship and Immigration 23 Services may be used to acquire, operate, equip, and dis24 pose of up to five vehicles for areas where the Adminis25 trator of General Services does not provide vehicles for

1 TITLE IV
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

For necessary expenses for citizenship and immigration services, $80,973,000: Provided, That of the amount provided under this heading, $80,000,000 is designated as described in section 5ý (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act): Provided jurther, That of the total, $20,000,000 is provided to address backlogs of security checks associated with pending applications and petitions and shall not be available for obligation until the Secretary of Homeland Security and the United States Attorney General submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a plan to eliminate the backlog of security checks that establishes information sharing protocols to ensure United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has the information it needs to carry out its mission:

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