Too Hot to Handle

It may not be dead yet, but the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration-reform bill is in critical condition. The overt cause of the trouble is the difference between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Both offer amnesty to millions of aliens now living in the U.S. However, the House bill, which passed by only 216 to 211, offers to legitimize the status of illegal aliens who have lived continuously in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 1982, while the Senate sets the date at Jan. 1, 1980. And unlike the Senate, the House would permit an agricultural-guest-worker program that has been opposed by labor groups, Hispanic leaders and the Senate sponsor of the bill, Alan Simpson, a Wyoming Republican.

The White House last week said that the costlier House version would be "unacceptable." While differences on the bill could be worked out in a congressional conference committee, its chances of being passed again by the House are slim. Said Simpson: "If we toss this one on the trash heap, no politician is going to stick his tootsies in the fire on this baby for another ten or 20 years."