WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- Two prominent Capitol Hill Republicans disagreed Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" about whether the Senate's immigration bill constitutes amnesty.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., defended the legislation -- approved Thursday -- that provides a means for 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States to become citizens. He pointed out that the first half of the 730-page bill deals solely with border enforcement.
"There are 60 subsections in our bill on what we would do with enforcement," he said.
Hagel said the bill did not provide amnesty for aliens in the country illegally.
"What Ronald Reagan did in 1986 was amnesty," he said. "This is not amnesty."
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., called the Senate bill a "repeat" of the 1986 immigration reform, which he said was a failure. The Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act, passed 20 years ago, made allowances for aliens already working in the United States.
Sensenbrenner complained that the Senate-passed bill would give immigrants Social Security benefits, but Hagel said the Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will produce more revenues than expenses.
