Lott urges Bush to wield veto threat

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The Senate's No. 2 Republican yesterday said he has told President Bush to be prepared to save their party from a bad immigration bill through his veto pen.

The comments from Minority Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi came minutes before the Senate voted to cut in half the guest-worker program in the massive immigration bill, the first blow that strained, but did not break, the bipartisan coalition trying to pass the measure.

Mr. Lott said Mr. Bush needs to get more involved in the debate by drawing lines in the sand that Democrats can't cross.

"He's got to be prepared to say to [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, 'If you come up with something that really makes a bad situation worse, I will veto it,' " Mr. Lott told reporters yesterday. "That is the ultimate weapon, and it has to be held in abeyance to keep the pressure on us to do this right."

The former Senate Republican leader said he told Mr. Bush this in a recent conversation, telling the president "it's important you emphasize that you want immigration reform, but not just any immigration reform."

But other Republicans laughed at that notion, saying there is no way Mr. Bush would veto a bill that reaches his desk.

"Whatever might be described as 'comprehensive immigration reform,' if it is put in front of the president, it will be the equivalent of hanging a pork chop in front of a hungry dog," said Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican.

Mr. Lott's comments underscore the fact that Republican senators have helped start a process over which they have little control once the bill leaves the Senate. House rules give Democrats near total control there, and Democrats also will control any conference committee between the House and Senate.

For now, Republicans are trying to fend off changes they think damage the "grand bargain" reached by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat; Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican; and the Bush administration.

Under the deal, Republicans accepted offering the estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens now in the country legal status and a path to citizenship while Democrats accepted creating the guest-worker program and changing rules for how future immigrants are selected. Both sides said they agreed on the need for better border security and workplace enforcement.