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Martinez details how Senate slugged out immigration bill
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| Contributor | Rob Brodner |
| Last Edited | Rob Brodner May 25, 2006 12:45pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Orlando Sentinel |
| News Date | Thursday, May 25, 2006 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida -- a key force behind the Senate's immigration bill -- explained Wednesday how he cajoled Republican colleagues to support his plan during morning workouts in the Senate gym, joking that "if I pushed too hard, they'd send me back" to Cuba.
He recalled "some shouting" at a negotiating session over his compromise plan with several senators, including Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and some staffers.
"Kennedy looked at me and said, 'He and I will work this out,' " Martinez said. "Kennedy and I slugged it out some, and then we joined arms on this."
Today, an intense, monthslong legislative struggle in the Senate over immigration is likely to culminate with about 70 senators passing a complex plan crafted by Martinez and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. A final vote was assured Wednesday when the Senate voted 73-25 to limit debate.
Martinez, a freshman and the only immigrant in the Senate, said he didn't seek such a prominent role in the fiercely contentious debate until colleagues "who knew my background looked to me and wondered what I thought."
"That gave me the impetus to get more involved," Martinez said in an interview Wednesday as he provided new details on how the final bill emerged.
Martinez said that Republicans, controlling the Senate and the House, "have a real responsibility to get something done on this, however difficult." |
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