WASHINGTON
(AP) -- The White House is downplaying its draft proposal as merely a
backup plan if lawmakers don't come up with an immigration overhaul of
their own. It won't be necessary, Republican and Democratic lawmakers
alike are telling the Obama administration.
White
House chief of staff Denis McDonough said Sunday that President Barack
Obama wants to "be prepared" in case the small bipartisan group of
senators fails to devise a plan for the estimated 11 million illegal
immigrants in the United States. In response, lawmakers assured the
White House they are working on their own plan - and warned that Obama
would be heading toward failure if the White House gets ahead of them.
"We
will be prepared with our own plan if these ongoing talks between
Republicans and Democrats up on Capitol Hill break down," McDonough
said, adding he's optimistic they would not crumble.
But he was equally realistic about the fierce partisanship on Capitol Hill.
"Well,
let's make sure that it doesn't have to be proposed," McDonough said of
the president's pitch, first reported on USA Today's website late
Saturday.
Even so, the administration is moving forward on its own immigration agenda should one of Obama's top priorities get derailed.
The
administration's proposal would create a visa for those in the country
illegally and allow them to become legal permanent residents within
eight years. The proposal also requires businesses to know the
immigration status of their workers and adds more funding for border
security.
It drew immediate criticism from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., one of the eight lawmakers searching for a comprehensive plan.
"If
actually proposed, the president's bill would be dead on arrival in
Congress, leaving us with unsecured borders and a broken legal
immigration system for years to come," said Rubio, who has been a
leading GOP spokesman on immigration.
Many of
the details in the administration's draft proposal follow the broad
principles that Obama previously outlined. But the fact the
administration is writing its own alternative signaled Obama wants to
address immigration sooner rather than later and perhaps was looking to
nudge lawmakers to move more quickly.
The tactic could complicate the administration's work with Congress.
Republican
Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin lawmaker who was his party's vice
presidential nominee last year, said the timing of the leak suggests the
White House was looking for "a partisan advantage and not a bipartisan
solution."
"Leaking this out does set things
in the wrong direction," said Ryan. "There are groups in the House and
the Senate working together to get this done and when he does things
like this, it makes that much more difficult to do that."
Freshman
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, called the leaked plan "incomplete" and
said both parties in Congress and the White House need to work together
on a solution.
"It hasn't happened yet. It will happen before something is acted upon and certainly before something is passed," he said.
Republican
Sen. John McCain predicted the administration's efforts would come up
short if the White House went forward with a proposal, and he encouraged
the White House to give senators a chance to finish their work.
McCain,
the Arizona senator whose previous efforts at an immigration overhaul
ended in failure in 2007, predicted the White House proposal's demise if
it were sent to Congress. He strongly urged the president to pocket the
drafted measures.
"I believe we are making progress in a bipartisan basis," said McCain, who is in the Senate group working on legislation.
And
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who met with Obama on Wednesday at the
White House to discuss progress, urged his allies in the administration
to give a bipartisan group of eight lawmakers the time to hammer out a
deal on their own.
Schumer, a New York
Democrat and a close ally of the White House, said he has not seen the
draft proposals but, along with the Democrats working on a compromise,
met with Obama this week to talk about progress being made on Capitol
Hill.
Schumer acknowledged that a single-party
proposal would have a much more difficult time becoming law and urged
the bipartisan group of senators to keep meeting to find common ground.
"I
am very hopeful that in March we will have a bipartisan bill," Schumer
said. "And, you know, it's obvious if a Democrat - the president or
anyone else - puts out what they want on their own, (it) is going to be
different than when you have a bipartisan agreement. But the only way
we're going to get something done is with a bipartisan agreement."
McDonough
appeared on ABC's "This Week," NBC's "Meet the Press" and CBS' "Face
the Nation." Ryan and Castro spoke to "This Week." McCain spoke to "Meet
the Press." Schumer appeared on CNN's "State of the Union."
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
