|
(Continued from page 35)
and the Pacific region. "I don't think that provocative path can be lost on Pyongyang. ... I think that they have succeeded in undermining trust and confidence in Beijing."
• ___
House group, overshadowed by Senate, finalizing immigration bill, path to legalize millions
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- A group of Republicans and Democrats in the House is finalizing a sweeping immigration bill that offers work permits and the eventual prospect of citizenship to millions of people living illegally in the United States, aides say. That path to citizenship, however, is likely to take at least 15 years for many, longer than envisioned by Senate immigration negotiators or by President Barack Obama.
• The secretive House effort, which also aims to further tighten the border against foreigners crossing illegally into the U.S. and crack down on employers who hire them, has been overshadowed by the bipartisan negotiations in the Senate, which is expected to act first on immigration legislation. But it's an important indication that a number of lawmakers, including Republicans, in the conservative-dominated House want to have a say in crafting a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration law.
• "We have legislative language that we'll be ready to go forward on, not concepts but actual language," Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, a leader of the group, said this week on "Capital Tonight," a program on cable news channel YNN in Central Texas.
• Without revealing details, Carter said the bill should be ready to be released in the next week or two and would address worker visas and the status of the 11 million immigrants who either arrived in the U.S. illegally or overstayed their visas.
• "We will have a very, very comprehensive bill that will do a great job in addressing these issues and others," he said.
• ___
US companies likely kept up steady job gains, though recent reports suggest hiring could slow
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy has enjoyed a four-month stretch of robust job gains, and on Friday the government will report whether that trend endured into March.
• Economists generally think it did. They predict that employers added a solid 195,000 jobs, according to a survey by FactSet. That's a healthy gain, although below February's 237,000 net jobs added.
(Continued on page 37)
|
|
