Elton Gallegly

Providing a high quality education to our children is my highest priority.

The reason this was taken out is the President of the United States, our President, said he would veto any bill that gave the States anything short of an unfunded mandate in perpetuity, guaranteeing a free public education entitlement for…

I think the gentleman would agree that this was something that I wanted in this bill or I would not have brought it to the floor during the debate in March.

First of all, this is not antieducation, it is proeducation. It is proeducation for the students that have a legal right to be in this country, that are either legal residents or citizens. This is the most proeducation bill we have had in…

One of the reasons the Sheriffs Association of the State of California, the largest sheriffs association in the Nation, supports this legislation is the cost of education far exceeds the cost of enforcing the law.

When the gentleman said we have not had an opportunity to debate this, I would remind the gentleman that we debated this for 2 hours on the floor of this House, which is a bigger committee and a broader committee than any individual…

Absolutely. One point I think is very important to further note. This does not turn any school teacher into a border patrol agent or a law enforcement person. All it does is provide the person that enrolls students at the beginning of the…

It allows the States to continue to educate anyone they want, legal or other wise. The only thing that it does do is after 1997, it puts those illegally entering this country or considering illegally entering this country on notice that…

I think we have come to the point where we cannot continue to chisel away and have a real bill. The people of California can no longer afford to provide a free public education to everyone. It has a denigrating effect on the citizens of…

I cannot let the statement pass, and I thank the gentleman for yielding, that all law enforcement opposes it when I know my good friend, the gentleman from California [Mr. Berman], knows that not to be true. In fact, just 3 days ago one of…

I have great personal respect for our relationship. We have worked hand in hand on the issue of illegal immigration for many years. But I think the gentleman would be the first to yield to the fact that this is an issue that I have worked…

Because it was in the bill that passed out of the committee, the full committee that we both serve on, by a vote of 23 to 10, but was changed by leadership prior to coming to the floor.

The reason why, the people that are violating the law today are not going to participate in the voluntary system. They are not the ones we are looking for. The ones we are looking for are the ones that intentionally violate the law.

I think it is very simple. If we have a voluntary system, there is no compliance.

As a parent of four and as someone who is a product of the city school system in Los Angeles, I am a strong supporter of public education. But one of the comments that she made was that these people were not participants in the…

This provision does one thing and one thing only: It denies anyone illegally in this country from being paid directly a check from the Federal Government. It says nothing about children; only that an illegal alien cannot receive a check.

I am happy to try to respond. We still have 25 people in the inspector general's office that are prepared to administer those funds. We no longer need the OTIA to continue to provide that service.

I stand in strong support of the Armey amendment to H.R. 6. Millions of American children are schooled at home by parents who are deeply committed to their education, and I believe it is absolutely essential that Congress respect these…