Each blamed the other for the bitter impasse, which could throw the legislative session into overtime. The heated budget battle is one of the most serious public fractures in Republican unity since the GOP gained control of both chambers of the state Legislature last year.

In a highly unusual attack from the well of the House, Speaker Glenn Richardson accused the state Senate of engaging in "a power play" to gain more control of billions of dollars in state funds.

"Quit playing games. Quit messing around," Richardson to a standing ovation from House lawmakers.

Minutes later, on the other side of the Capitol, state Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson fired back, bringing senators to their feet.  "There is an arrogance across the aisle that believes the Senate should not have a seat at the table," Johnson said.

Johnson also blasted Richardson for violating an unspoken rule under the Gold Dome by describing inaccurately, he said, private budget conversations the two leaders had, one with Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Richardson said that in a phone call Monday night with Johnson he had lost his temper and used profanity after Johnson told him that a proposal being pushed by House GOP leaders, presumably a gas pipeline bill, would only move in his chamber if the House relented on language changes the Senate was seeking in the budget.  "Hell no," Richardson said he told Johnson.

Johnson said he would not "rise to the bait" and discuss the private conversations, except to say that Richardson had misrepresented him.  "He did not repeat the language that he used, which would embarrass me as an old salt," Johnson said of the House speaker.

One item at issue is a Senate bid to exert more control over how the Administrative Office of the Courts spends its money. The House also disagrees with a Senate attempt to give school leaders more flexibility over school funding.

"We're down to hours from maybe getting out of here without a budget," Johnson said.

"We have not talked about $1 in the $18 billion budget," he said.  Dan McLagan, a spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, refused to get into the legislative fray but appeared to side with the House, which opposes the Senate-backed language changes.  "The Legislature's job is to pass a budget and that is exactly what we expect them to do," McLagan said. "The budget ought to be about numbers rather than words."

(Posted on WSB-TV online – story by Associated Press)

Halls of Shame,
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Massive Guest Worker Amnesty Program Would Destroy American Dream for American Workers and Families

As you have undoubtedly heard, the Senate Judiciary Committee last evening approved an amnesty guest worker program modeled after the worst of all possible alternatives, the McCain-Kennedy legislation. Not to be outdone, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) successfully advanced an amendment to provide amnesty for some 1.5 million illegal alien agricultural workers.

Incredible as it may sound, the Judiciary Committee took this action even as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was issuing a devastating report on border vulnerability to terrorism. The report revealed that its investigators had successfully smuggled enough nuclear material across both the Mexican and Canadian borders to assemble two "dirty bombs." Even more incredibly, the GAO investigators smuggled their cargo not in some remote unguarded sector of either border, but through regular "secure" border crossings.

What follows is a short synopsis of the highlights of the Judiciary Committee bill approved yesterday:

Citizenship for Sale and for Free

General Amnesty (Graham R-SC, Kennedy D-MA Amendment)

Voted Against Committee Approval
Hatch (R-UT)
Grassley (R-IA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Sessions (R-AL)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Coburn (R-TN)