Dianne Feinstein: “I rise to oppose the Abraham-Feingold amendment. Let me not mince words. This amendment, in my view, is a bill killer…”

“I rise to oppose the Abraham-Feingold amendment. Let me not mince words. This amendment, in my view, is a bill killer, it is a bill gutter, it decimates the foundation of employer sanctions. It will provide, if it passes, a bill that is gutless, toothless, aged, and will not work. We must make employer sanctions work. And let me tell you why. The reason why is, take my State, California. We have 2 million people in California illegally. How do these people survive? They survive one of two ways--they either get on benefits through fraudulent documents or they work. How do they work? With employer sanctions, an employer is not supposed to give them jobs. My opponents would have you believe that every employer wants to break the law, that every employer is going to hire people simply because they know them. I can tell you from the State that has the largest number of illegal immigrants in the Nation--40 percent of them--that is not the case. Employer sanctions can only be effective if there is some method of verification.”