Howard Berman: “Mr. Chairman, Abe Lincoln used to say calling a tail a leg does not make it one. No matter how many times you cite 21…”

“Mr. Chairman, Abe Lincoln used to say calling a tail a leg does not make it one. No matter how many times you cite 21 percent of legal immigrants on welfare, it is wrong. Saying it a lot of times does not make it true. The Urban Institute says 7 percent less than the average American who did not come here as a legal immigrant relies on welfare, 7 percent less than the average. Second, you can cite a graduate student who is working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for a survey, Manhattan Institute, a survey, top economists in the country of all ideologies and persuasions. Eighty-one percent said legal immigration is very helpful to the economy. The other 19 percent said it is slightly helpful to the economy. No one said it hurts the economy. We have put together a coalition on this amendment, with the great work of my colleagues, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Chrysler] and the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Brownback] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Dooley] and the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Crane], that includes the AFL-CIO, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Christian Coalition, the Americans for Tax Reform, a whole slew of organizations that believe in economic growth, family values and family reunification. I urge that the Committee of the Whole adopt this amendment.”