Immigration bill being larded with pork by Harry and others

Not that you’ll read about it in any of the news media in Nevada, but that immigration bill that passed the Senate Monday is filled with nearly as many special interest provisions as ObamaCare — which included backroom deals such as Cornhusker Kickback, Louisiana Purchase, Kerry’s favors and Medicaid sweeteners for various states.

Nevada’s own Harry Reid and Dean Heller joined forces to prop up a tourism promotion boondoggle that was set to sunset in 2015, but now will extend in perpetuity.

Bally’s thank Harry for tourism pork.

According to Breitbart.com, page 66 of the of 1,200-page unread and unreadable bill now reads:

CORPORATION FOR TRAVEL PROMOTION.—Sec- 9(d)(2)(B) of the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (22 U.S.C. 2131(d)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015,’’ and inserting ‘‘For each fiscal year after 2012.”

The Travel Promotion Act (TPA) of 2009 allows the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to dole out $100 million a year promoting travel. When the bill first passed Bally’s put up a sign thanking Reid for the largesse.

Reid boasted at the time:

“We know that when international visitors plan their trips to America, Nevada will be at the top of their list. By promoting our nation as a tourist destination, we will give our state’s economy a shot in the arm, put Nevadans back to work, and reduce the deficit by $425 million in the next decade.”

Reid and Heller weren’t the only one’s with their fists in the lard. Investor’s Business Daily notes these little goodies:

• Adds $1.5 billion to President Obama’s failed jobs stimulus, a gift to socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
• Makes a range of serious crimes for which U.S. citizens can be arrested and imprisoned — including assault and battery, drunk driving and tax fraud — “waivable” for illegal immigrants when it comes to their amnesty status.
• Gives Alaskan “Seafood processing” jobs special status as “shortage occupations,” letting those industries hire low-skilled illegal immigrants to fill “temporary” jobs, a bipartisan favor to Alaska Sens. Mark Begich (Democrat) and Lisa Murkowski (Republican).

Not only that, IBD reports, but the “tough” border control is a lark.

Those 20,000 new border agents don’t get added until 2021, which means it will never happen. As for the 700 miles of border fence, the secretary of Homeland Security can unilaterally stop it from ever being built and Congress has no say.

And we’re not just talking about 11 million illegals. By the time friends and families are allowed to come on in, the number could swell to 60 million. The current population of the country, including those 11 million illegals, is only 300 million.