Immigration Bill Survives Procedural Vote

For example, Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., said that voting to proceed with the bill did not necessarily mean he was supporting it.

President Bush, speaking earlier in the day to a group of business leaders, expressed optimism on the bill's fate, calling it a "historic opportunity for Congress to act."

"The first thing that we've got to recognize in the country is that the system isn't working," he said. "The immigration system needs reform. The status quo is unacceptable. If you dislike the status quo on immigration, then you ought to be supporting a comprehensive approach to making sure the system works. And it's a practical approach."

Additional remarks on the bill caused a bit of controversy, however, when the president referred to the bill as "amnesty," a term the White House has judiciously avoided. "You know, I've heard all the rhetoric -- you've heard it, too -- about how this is amnesty. Amnesty means that you've got to pay a price for having been here illegally, and this bill does that."