On the recordJune 13, 2013
I would like to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from California (Mr. Denham), and what I'd like to ask is, in conversations that have taken place between Members on this particular amendment, there is obviously quite a bit of support on this side of the House for legislation that would honor the service of any American, including those Americans who have come to this country through no fault of their own without documentation, have essentially become Americans through their time as youngsters in this country, and then wanted to fulfill service to this Nation by applying to serve in our Armed Forces. This amendment, however, has some flaws in it that make it very difficult for the very people that the gentleman is trying to help to actually receive the opportunity to serve our country and then be able to adjust their status to lawful permanent residents, and ultimately, we hope, to become United States citizens. There is also a further flaw in the bill that would prevent any part of this from ever taking effect unless the gentleman were able to find the resources to implement this. As he and I discussed before this amendment was put on the floor, that would be very difficult unless we were prepared to make some substantial changes to the current funding of some very important mandatory programs, including retirement pay for our soldiers; TRICARE, which is health care services for our military servicemembers; mortgage refinancing for our servicemembers.…
