Frist: Senate unlikely to get to immigration this year

HoustonChronicle.com - Frist: Senate unlikely to get to immigration this year: "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Thursday that immigration reform is probably off the table for this year, a prediction that threw cold water on the methodical efforts of Sen. John Cornyn to pass a bill this fall.

'The overall guest worker-immigration legislation will come in this Congress (which ends in late 2006). It won't be this summer, I can't promise it will be in the fall,' said Frist, R-Tenn. 'More likely, it will be in the early part of next year, but within the next 12 months.'

Cornyn, R-Texas., said he was unaware of Frist's comments and found them disturbing. 'I hope that isn't right,' said Cornyn, who is likely to unveil his proposal, including a guest worker program, next week with his co-author, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

'My impression was that he wanted to do something sooner rather than later,' Cornyn said. 'I need to talk to him.'"