Short writing assignment #3

April 10th: Bush’s immigration plan
Bush ventured to Arizona recently to talk about implementing his new immigration plan, declaring that, “This border should be open to trade and lawful immigration and shut down to criminals and drug dealers and terrorists.” This new plan is a response to what many people consider a growing illegal immigration problem. Last year the president tried to create a temporary guest worker program, but some in congress opposed the idea.
Now Bush states, “It is time for a comprehensive immigration bill.” The bill, proposed by President Bush, will include penalties for employers of illegal immigrants, and will attempt to require employers to verify the legal status of their employees. The plan will also include efforts to help new immigrants learn to speak English. In addition to this, two visas are a part of the plan. Temporary workers would be able to apply for Y-visas, which would grant them guest worker status. Current illegal immigrants may be required to pay fines for unlawfully entering the United States, but then may apply for a Z-visa, granting legal status after completion of an English and civics course.
Many immigrants oppose the plan and have demonstrated such. The senate is scheduled to take up the issue in May.
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/education/2007/04/09/sn.0410.cnn

April 4th: Standoff between Whitehouse and Congress over funding for troops in Iraq
A potentially dangerous political deadlock is brewing in the nation’s capital. While President Bush is constitutionally empowered to control the United States Military, congress maintains control of the funding that the president has at his discretion. This has led to a standoff between the president, who states that the war will require continued funding indefinitely, and a congress that wishes to spur the president to troop withdrawal.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed bills recently appropriating more funds for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, there was more to the bill than just funding. It included a deadline for the president to begin troop withdrawal. President Bush has already stated that he would veto any bill including a troop withdrawal deadline, and he called Congress’s ‘delay’ irresponsible, “Congress’s most basic responsibility is to give our troops the equipment and training they need to fight our enemies and protect our nation. They are failing in that responsibility...”
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/education/2007/04/03/sn.0404.cnn

April 8th: Tax system overhaul? In 1969, the federal government created an “alternative minimum tax” to keep millionaires from exploiting a loophole in the tax code that would essentially allow them to avoid federal taxes altogether. It required certain people to perform a second tax calculation without claiming certain deductions. However, Democratic leadership in congress feels that the system is outdated, and the whitehouse agrees. The president seems comfortable with letting Congress handle this issue, since it will lead to an enormous loss of revenue over the next decade that will have to gathered by other means.
Congress has no choice but to make this tax cut, a stereotypically rare move for Democrats, since the existing code has not been adjusted for inflation and no longer only targets the people it was meant to affect. In the coming years it could affect people with incomes as low as $50,000. In the coming year the tax would affect approximately 23 million people, as opposed to the 3.4 million that were affected last year. Previously, a republican congress and the president have only mitigated the problem with a series of one-year fixes, but a Democratic congress wishes to tackle the problem head on with a permanent solution.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/business/09tax.html?_r=1&oref=slogin