Timing of the Fence Bill
Mickey Kaus started counting the days since Congress passed the bill and wondered whether the White House had decided to simply ignore the bill to death.
Congress has not formally sent the bill to the President. That means the clock has not started for his signature. The 10-day period starts only after Congress formally prints and delivers the bill for the President to sign into law.
Why has Congress waited? The Secure Fence Act, which requires that the border barrier be constructed, is a very high priority for Republican leadership in both chambers. They and the White House want to schedule the signing for what they see as the maximum impact to the midterm elections. My source told me that the terrorist detention and interrogation bill will be signed on October 17th, and they want this to come after that.
Expect to see this get signed somewhere between October 24th and November 1st. The White House considers this bill a front-and-center accomplishment and wants the boost to last all the way through Election Day. Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress (especially Bill Frist, I’m told) want this to get as much coverage as possible. After the signing ceremony, expect to see this bill get trumpeted in the final advertising push for all Republican incumbents running for re-election.
No one on the Hill or in the White House has missed the message from the base.
Over the summer I had given up hope to get this accomplished. The events of May had convinced me that we were better to get no bill than an amnesty bill.
The conservative base has something to feel good about here.
Thanks to Captain Ed, one of the finest Bloggers on the planet.
