Redstate

His thoughts on immigration, Jim Nussle and education reform

By Bluey Posted in Congress | Featured Stories — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Last week, before senators packed their bags and headed home for a week-long recess, I had the opportunity to chat with Sen. Lamar Alexander. The Tennessee Republican had just returned from an Appropriations Committee meeting where his amendment protecting the rights of employers who require English to be spoken on the job narrowly passed, 15-14.

It capped a busy week for Alexander. During our interview, we touched on the defeat of the immigration bill, Jim Nussle's confirmation as OMB director, and the prospects for reauthorizing No Child Left Behind. In an attempt to connect with bloggers, Alexander is doing about one of these interviews per week.

An abridged version of our conversation is on the jump...

Why the immigration bill failed:

I think the Congress was trying to bite off more than we can chew at one time. This is a problem that's been 20 years in the making, and at least in my opinion, we were trying to fix too many problems at once. There was increasing skepticism among many senators that we could actually do what the bill said. For example, the secure card, the employer verification system and the 24-hour background check.

How he'd like Congress to approach immigration:

We should scale it back and start again and go step by step. If it took 20 years to get ourselves in a hole like this, it might take us a few years to get out of it. What became apparent was that the country didn't trust Washington to fix the immigration problem and we're going to have to find a way to regain that trust. I think the way we do that is focusing on steps that we can take, and doing them well.

Why he's trying to protect English:

My amendment stops the EEOC from bringing new lawsuits against employers like the Salvation Army, which requires its employees to speak English. What the EEOC has done is equated a speaking requirement that employees speak English with illegal discrimination based on national origin. That was never intended. And what it does in practical effect means that a shoe shop or a Senate office or a school or a department store or a Wal-Mart basically has to hire a lawyer to prove that speaking English is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to that business. The burden of proof would be on every business in America to show they have some reason to expect their employees to speak our common language. I think most Tennesseans would find that preposterous.

Prospects of confirming Jim Nussle as OMB director:

The president needs a director of the Office of Management and Budget. It'll be a lot easier for the White House and Congress to work together if he has one. ... I know and like Jim Nussle. I know of no reason why he wouldn't be qualified for the job. ... I imagine he'll have substantial Republican support, but he could get all the Republican votes and still not be confirmed.

Whether No Child Left Behind will be reauthorized:

I believe No Child Left Behind will eventually be reauthorized. ... In the first five years, the federal government made an extraordinary intervention into what has traditionally been the province of the states. It was not as much of an intervention as many people made it out to be because what the federal government simply required was that the states have state standards in reading and math in grades 3 through 8. ... I think what would be healthy for our education system is that during the next five years of No Child Left Behind, we toss the ball back to the states and invite them to innovate on ways to create high standards in a simpler way and to still report the same kind of information, but in a way that might be better than what they were required to do in the first five years.

It was a quick interview, but a perfect way for Alexander to highlight some of his priorities and for me to ask about current events. I hope he continues doing these interview in the future. Special thanks to his assistant press secretary Jill Bader for making it happen.