"Immigration is as complicated an issue as I have ever had to deal with," Bennett said. "After our last attempt to get something done - we lacked a majority - one colleague asked if we really wanted to pick up that rattlesnake a third time." The multi-faceted problem has ended careers and evoked maximum vitriol on both sides of the aisle, he added.

Regarding the economy, Bennett said he would like to carve in marble the words "You cannot repeal the law of supply and demand." "But we keep trying," he said, explaining that he voted for President Bush's stimulus package because trusted economists told him it would do no harm.

Sen. Hatch expressed concerns that Congress' failed to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act bill that would extend legal immunity for phone companies facing privacy invasion lawsuits stemming from wiretaps.

"The importance of this bill cannot be measured," Hatch said. "We can't handle the future without it." cmckitrick@sltrib.com