众议院12月17日通过了Omnibus Appropriation Bill。12月18日晚，参议院在附加了$40,000,000的伊拉克战争拨款后，也通过了该法案。12月19日晚，众议院再次投票通过了参议院修改的版本。布什是这次拨款法案的最大赢家。他要求的消减20个billion的预算（都是民主党需要的）战争拨款于撤军脱钩都实现了。毫无疑问，他将签署法案并立刻生效。民主党这次是惨败而归。我们关心的移民条款的命运如何呢？
首先说说name check。我们lobbyist 提出的supervisory review 已经被纽约市的众议员Clarke 采纳进入她的name check solution 条款。上周，Clarke 几次要求 众议院Judiciary Committee 和 Appropriation Committee 的leaders 把name check solution 的条款加入 Omnibus。到12月14日，都没有人说 No。12月17日，Clarke 被告知Omnibus 中包括了name check 的条款（见附录）：国会将给USCIS拨$20,000,000的专款解决name check delay，并要求USCIS尽快出台解决方案报国会审批。之所以民主党领导层最终没有采用supervisory review，lobbyists的分析是他们在刻意避免容易引起争议的policy 条款，而倾向争议较少的monetary 条款。
虽然没有我们解决individual case 的supervisory review，但是这笔巨额专款保证了解决name check delay 的财政基础。任何形式的name check 改革，包括 Supervisory Review，都需要大笔的拨款。现在有钱在手，USCIS就再也没有理由拖延改革。明年在USCIS给众议院Judiciary Committee 提解决方案的时候我们的lobbyists可以进一步要求individual case 的time frame。所以，name check 问题的最终解决指日可待。
我们不敢说这笔专款完全是LIA 的lobbyists的功劳，但是，他们的作用是至关重要的。如果没有他们的游说，Clarke的法案一不会采纳我们的条款，二不会受到民主党领导层的重视。而且，民主党领导层也不会意识到name check delay 的负面影响，而专款就也就无从谈起了。所以，LIA完全可以自豪地说，我们的lobbyists成功影响了立法，合法移民组织作为华人新移民的政治组织第一次发出了声音，这个声音被国会听到了并且采纳了！
关于介绍绿卡名额的recapture，不出所料，包括recapture 218,000绿卡名额的Immigration Package 不在Omnibus Appropriation Bill中（见LIA 12月16日的文章）。所以，这次的Omnibus没有任何关于immigration 的条款，包括nurse recapture。
没有immigration package, 对我们肯定不是好事。但是，因为布什要的200 billion Iraq funding 这次国会只给了70 billion。所以明年（可能是二月）将再提Iraq funding bill。作为appropriation bill 的延续，它也会是一个monster bill。到时候recapture 还有机会。05年那次的nurse recapture 就是搭乘在 Iraq Funding bill 上的。
融资雇lobbyist给我们做事不容易，尤其是现在LIA 只在网上融资。让lobbyist 把事情做成更不容易。这不是少数几个人就能搞定的。绿卡排期是大家的问题，LIA是新移民的草根组织，只有你参与了，贡献了，LIA才能发展下去。希望各界人士能到LIA 网站上
http://www.legalimmigrant.org注册参加我们在各地的year-end dinner，发展壮大我们的中国人的政治力量，并捐款支持。
附录：language in Omnibus bill to fix name check delay:
1 TITLE IV
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES
For necessary expenses for citizenship and immigration services, $80,973,000: Provided, That of the amount provided under this heading, $80,000,000 is designated as described in section 5ý (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act): Provided jurther, That of the total, $20,000,000 is provided to address backlogs of security checks associated with pending applications and petitions and shall not be available for obligation until the Secretary of Homeland Security and the United States Attorney General submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a plan to eliminate the backlog of security checks that establishes information sharing protocols to ensure United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has the information it needs to carry out its mission: Provided jurther, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds available to United States Citizenship and Immigration 23 Services may be used to acquire, operate, equip, and dis24 pose of up to five vehicles for areas where the Adminis25 trator of General Services does not provide vehicles for
1 TITLE IV
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND SERVICES UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES
For necessary expenses for citizenship and immigration services, $80,973,000: Provided, That of the amount provided under this heading, $80,000,000 is designated as described in section 5ý (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act): Provided jurther, That of the total, $20,000,000 is provided to address backlogs of security checks associated with pending applications and petitions and shall not be available for obligation until the Secretary of Homeland Security and the United States Attorney General submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a plan to eliminate the backlog of security checks that establishes information sharing protocols to ensure United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has the information it needs to carry out its mission: