In an attempt to get 60 votes and shut down debate, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is promoting a version authored by Senators Martinez (R-FL) and Hagel (R-NE). Senators should oppose this bill because it attempts to create a path toward lawful residency and citizenship by placing heavy burdens on current undocumented immigrants, demanding a $2,000 fee and requiring the ability to speak English and pass a civics test. An undocumented immigrant could not, under this bill, become a citizen until 11 years after the application has been filed.

The Martinez-Hagel bill requires an undocumented immigrant to leave the country at their port of entry and re-apply for entry. Immigrants without documentation will fear arrest, as well they should. It would also deputize untrained local police to act as immigration agents and limit judicial review and due process for non-citizens. Moreover, it contains an uncapped guest workers program that has no path to permanent residency or citizenship and thus could create a permanent underclass that may never get to participate in the U.S. democratic system.

The United States deserve comprehensive immigration reform that makes sense not only for the undocumented residents of the United States and the workers who may come to the country in the future, but also for the resident families and citizen workers who have been negatively impacted by the current immigration system. The current system is not sensitive to the needs of both the immigrant community and the U.S. economy.

To support comprehensive immigration reform :
• that is fair and just for the immigrant community,
• that recognizes the value of immigrants living in this country and
• provides a path to full citizenship and participation in the society as citizens.

BACKGROUND
Since 1996 the government has consistently taken an enforcement-only approach to immigration. Barriers, more agents and more civilian militia operations at the border have not stopped illegal immigration, but have instead shifted the path of migrants to ever more remote and dangerous areas of the border, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people from exposure and dehydration. This issue must be dealt with fairly in order to end these inhumane conditions. Precious families are affected. Now some politicians are pushing measures in immigration "reform" bills that infringe on civil liberties. Immigrant women are among the most vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and human rights violations in the United States. They face particular challenges due to inequalities that exist between men and women but also due to the additional responsibilities of family and home. In the workplace, immigrant women may be subjected to gender discrimination as well as prejudice based on their ethnicity or country of birth. Some women come to the U.S. to be domestic workers or caregivers, sometimes having to leaving leave their own children in their native country to be raised by relatives. No bill should be passed out of the Senate that doesn't address these unresolved issues or ease the punitive barriers. Serious immigration reform legislation must address the reasons why people come to the U.S. illegally. The Senate needs to pass a reasonable bill and must not allow the House bill to be combined with any immigration bill passed by the Senate.

UNITED STATES : TO PREVENT APPROVAL OF UNSAFE IMPLANTS

After much delay, the FDA may be moving closer to approval of silicone breast implants manufactured by Mentor Corp. The safety of these implants is currently under investigation by the FDA.

Two whistleblowers have come forward alleging that the rupture rate provided to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by breast implant manufacturer Mentor Corp. was skewed. One of the claims is that textured silicone gel breast implants made by Mentor have a design flaw that results in a higher rupture rate. Another claim is that the higher rupture rate has not been accurately reported to the FDA. If the whistleblowers' reports prove accurate, approval of silicone implants should not go forward.

The FDA's Acting Commissioner, Andrew von Eschenbach, has requested an investigation by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI). FDA may approve Mentor's silicone breast implants BEFORE the investigation is complete.


UNITED STATES : THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM

The National Women's History Museum Act of 2005 which is now stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives. Legislation that would make available a vacant federal building for the National Women's History Museum has hit a roadblock in the House and may fall victim to big time D.C. hotel development politics and Jack Abramoff.

The Senate has already unanimously passed a bill (S. 501) by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) providing a home for the National Women's History Museum, but the legislation is now bogged down in a House subcommittee. A massive outcry from women's rights activists urging House members to expedite approval of the bill is needed now -- especially timely as Women's History Month draws to a close today.

BACKGROUND
In 1987 Congress declared March as "Women's History Month." However, almost two decades later, there is still no permanent structure to honor women's legacy. Founded in 1996, the National Women's History Museum, Inc. (NWHM) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution dedicated to the rich and diverse history of women's contributions to U.S. culture and society. The effort to find a permanent site in Washington, D.C., began in the late 1990s. The NWHM leadership learned of a prime site only a few blocks from the White House and National Mall and began a campaign to acquire the site as a home for women's history treasures.

In July 2005 the Senate unanimously approved S. 501, The National Women's History Museum Act of 2005, sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and 23 co-sponsors. This legislation directs the General Services Administration to enter into a long-term occupancy agreement with the NWHM to develop a choice location in the Pavilion Annex adjoining the Old Post Office Building in D.C. At about the same time, powerful lobbyists began pressuring congressional leaders to give their clients "special considerations" in gaining access to the Old Post Office Building and the 100,000 square foot, three-story glass enclosed Annex. According to a Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill (March 2, 2006), now disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff had been vying for the property through his contact at the General Services Administration, David Safavian. Savafian has since been indicted for lying to federal investigators about his ties to Abramoff.

The House counterpart to the Senate bill is H.R. 1429, sponsored by Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio) and a bipartisan slate of 31 co-sponsors. The House leadership has the power to bring this bill to a floor vote, but there has been no movement in the subcommittee since it was referred there last September. Meanwhile, the building sits vacant and the NWHM needs a home. The nation's capital is replete with monuments and museums that tell important histories - but nothing is available that tells the story of women's accomplishments. The NWHM is different from the current National Museum of Women in the Arts because the new facility would showcase women's contributions to history and society rather than to the visual arts.

The National Women's History Museum already has an admirable record of presenting women's history-related programs. Its most important programmatic initiative for 2004-2005 was "Partners in Winning the War -- American Women in World War II", an exhibition opened on May 30, 2004, to coincide with the dedication of the World War II Memorial. The NWHM website includes a CyberMuseum with ongoing exhibits and self-guided tours of women's history sites in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. To support the museum and its acquisition of the new site, the NWHM has organized a national coalition, currently including 30 leading national women's service, education and professional organizations. On March 2, the National Women's History Museum Coalition launched a campaign to persuade the House to act on legislation that would create the museum.


UNITED STATES : KATRINA SURVIVORS

Months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands of people who were affected by the storm are still homeless, jobless and separated from their loved ones and community. The face of Louisiana and Mississippi is changed, possibly forever. Yet no progress has been made in helping the survivors return to the area, ensuring their right to fair elections with real access, or enticing businesses to return and reconstruct. In fact, only 82 representatives out of 435 have signed on to co-sponsor House Resolution 4197: the Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Reclamation, Restoration, Reconstruction and Reunion Act of 2005.

BACKGROUND
This important bill would provide housing vouchers, community development block grants, counseling and absentee ballots for survivors. Local businesses would receive incentives to return to the Gulf Coast and rebuild. Passage of this bill is imperative for progress in the area—so why isn't it supported by every representative?

They need to hear from constituents and advocacy groups that this bill should be at the top of everyone's priority list. By ignoring the problems that are still plaguing the Gulf Coast, we can never move forward from this disaster.