June 14 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush endorsed a plan to speed funds to border security projects as Senate negotiators reported progress toward reviving stalled immigration legislation.

``I support an amendment that will provide $4.4 billion in immediate additional funding for securing our borders and enforcing our laws at the worksite,'' Bush said at a speech to the Associated Builders and Contractors. in Washington. The money ``will come from the fines and penalties that we collect from those who have come to our country illegally.''

The plan to create a mandatory spending fund for border enforcement is intended to attract support for the immigration overhaul from Republicans, who are concerned that the legislation doesn't sufficiently emphasize border security.

Bush's endorsement ``could break the logjam'' preventing Senate action on the legislation because ``it will give the American people confidence'' that border security will be tightened,'' said Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican.

Specter said border enforcement was the chief concern raised by lawmakers when Bush went to Capitol Hill this week to try to persuade Republican senators to back the measure. The legislation, one of Bush's top legislative priorities, would offer legal status for 12 million undocumented aliens. It would also create a temporary worker program.

`Political Courage'

``We've got to summon the political courage to move forward on comprehensive reform,'' Bush said. ``Doing nothing is not a solution.''

Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl called Bush's endorsement of the fund a ``huge'' boost to the measure's prospects. Kyl and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, who first proposed the security fund, said Bush's support will help them persuade the Senate's Democratic leaders to resume debate on the measure as early as next week.

The immigration legislation stalled last week when senators refused to end debate and move to a final vote. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shelved it after lawmakers couldn't agree on limiting the number of amendments to be considered.

California Democrat Dianne Feinstein said negotiators have a ``general'' agreement to allow votes on 10 Republican amendments and nine from Democrats.

Lawmakers and legislative aides who briefed reporters stressed there were still details to work out.

`Still Talking'

Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said a deal wasn't yet ready to take to Reid. ``We're still talking about it,'' he said.

The $4.4 billion should help ease ``honest skepticism'' about the legislation from ``those who want to make sure the government is going to put their money where their mouth is,'' Graham said.

That skepticism and distrust arose because Congress didn't take adequate steps to stem the tide of illegal immigration when it enacted legislation in 1986 to legalize the status of 3 million undocumented aliens then in the U.S., Graham said.

Still, Georgia Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson said the $4.4 billion fund wouldn't meet their demand for a supplemental appropriation to finance border security and enforcement.

The president needs to ask Congress for the amount of money he thinks he needs to ``fully secure the border,'' Chambliss said. ``I don't think we could have been any stronger in emphasizing that to him the other day.''

`Last Minute'

South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint said in a statement that ``this funding should have been supported all along, not offered at the last minute to attract votes to a bad bill.''

When the proposal was first raised about a month ago ``it got discouraged by'' Rob Portman, the president's budget director, said Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the chief Democratic negotiator.

Besides providing financing for border enforcement, the Graham-Kyl proposal is designed to deter future illegal entry by making it a crime for foreigners to overstay travel or student visas.

``Where there was lack of deterrence'' in the 1986 immigration law, ``we are going to create deterrence,'' Graham said.

The amendment would require the government to set up a tracking system so law enforcement can easily determine if visitors have overstayed visas, as several of the participants in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks did.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Murray at bmurray@bloomberg.net; James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 14, 2007 17:57 EDT