From the LA Times:
The bill now goes to a committee of House and Senate members, who will try to forge a compromise between the Senate legislation and a much more punitive bill approved by the House in December.
The task may prove impossible. House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert (R-Ill.) said this week that he would not schedule a compromise bill for floor action unless it commanded the support of a majority of the House's Republican majority.
"If Speaker Hastert insists on the 'majority of the majority,' "Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)said this week, then immigration reform is dead.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), a leader of House conservatives as head of the 100-plus Republican Study Committee, criticized the Senate bill for providing amnesty to large numbers of people who had broken the law.
"This does not mean, however, that we cannot work together to find a solution to the problem of illegal immigration," Pence said. "The real rational middle ground can be found in a bill that is tough on border security, employer enforcement, and contains a no-amnesty guest worker program run by the private sector."
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