Mark Takano: “Most of us come from immigrant stock. I think you're Basque Italian. My forebears came from Japan. We, ourselves, are…”

“Most of us come from immigrant stock. I think you're Basque Italian. My forebears came from Japan. We, ourselves, are examples of the striving of generations. I'm pretty sure your parents, as well as mine, instilled the importance of education. It's the story of America repeated over and over again--of people coming here because they hear about the freedom, the way of life that we have and the opportunity that our country represents. Much of it is embodied in our belief in education being the platform, the launching pad, for entering the middle class. Certainly, this dream will be cut short if we don't watch out for things like the doubling of the interest rates or allowing interest rates to be tied to variable rates. As Mr. Holt pointed out, he asserts that, really, it's a very sly way to try to raise revenue without actually being straightforward about it. It's a way to raise revenue on the backs of our children. I say let's do sensible things--pass comprehensive immigration reform. It, by itself, by the numbers I just showed, provides a tremendous amount of revenue to our government simply by the fact that we harness the energy of so many aspirational people.”