TUCSON - The House will most likely not try to pass its own comprehensive immigration bill unless the Senate approves its reform measure first, two leading Democratic representatives said Tuesday.

"If the Senate can't move this legislation, then spending the time and angst that it would take to move something forward in the House may not be productive," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), speaking to a group of Arizona business and community leaders via videoconference from Washington.

However, even if the measure currently under debate in the Senate is passed, the House probably won't use it as a basis for its own comprehensive bill, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House judiciary subcommittee that deals with immigration.

Hoyer's and Lofgren's comments came as part of a question-and-answer session organized by Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and held shortly after the Senate voted 64-35 to revive its stalled comprehensive immigration bill.

Lofgren said that while any reform measure should include punishment for people who overstay their visas or enter the country illegally, provisions in the current Senate bill to deal with the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants are too onerous.

For example, she pointed to the fines that illegal immigrants would have to pay in order to obtain a legal work visa and permanent residency. Such penalties, Lofgren said, could amount to as much as $29,000 for a family of four.

"As a practical matter, that won't work," she said. "If you're a landscaper you don't have $20,000 to pay in fees, which means you won't step forward to identify yourself."

Lofgren said her subcommittee was in the midst of "intensive listening sessions" with House Democrats in hopes of crafting a more workable solution.

At the same time, she added, she is holding "discreet and less formal discussion" with conservative Republicans to get their feedback on the issue.

Some lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, say that efforts to legalize illegal immigrants would amount to amnesty for lawbreakers. Giffords said that she wants to hear what constituents in her Arizona Eighth Congressional District think, and so she has sent a questionnaire to people across the district requesting feedback.