BIPARTISAN HOUSE GROUP WANTS TO BEAT SENATE ON IMMIGRATION BILL

From the LA Times:
A secretive group of House members from both parties is racing to complete an immigration bill in the next two weeks with an eye toward introducing legislation before President Obama’s State of the Union address on Feb. 12, said two congressional aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
The draft bill, written behind closed doors by three Democrats and three Republicans, so far includes a path to legal status, new border security measures and tighter restrictions on employers. It tracks closely with the blueprint laid out by the bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday, said the aides. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said in a statement that the senators’ principles “are compatible with discussions in the House.”
Diaz-Balart would not give details about those discussions and would not explicitly confirm he is a member of the group. Congressional aides confirmed that along with Diaz-Balart, Republicans John Carter and Sam Johnson, both of Texas, are part of the group, with Democrats Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois, Zoe Lofgren of San Jose, and the chairman of the House Democratic caucus, Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles.