On the recordJune 25, 2013
I wish to thank the Senator from Minnesota for her remarks and say how much I appreciate her work on this legislation, on the Judiciary Committee and beyond. The chairman is here today. I wish to thank him for his leadership both on the committee and on the floor. One way or another, something important is going to happen here this week--which should happen more regularly than it does, but it does not, in the 4 years I have been here; that is, a bill that actually is the result of thoughtful bipartisan--in some cases I even describe it as nonpartisan--work that has been done first by the so-called Gang of 8 that I was pleased to be part of, then in the Judiciary Committee itself, and now on the floor of the Senate. Before I talk about immigration, I want to mention we are still struggling out in Colorado this summer with these terrible wildfires. We have appreciated the Federal cooperation we have received. It is a reminder to me, when I stand on this floor, how important it is for us to get past this partisan gridlock we have and into a position where we are actually making shared decisions that will allow us, among other things, to do the investments we need to do to make sure our forests have the fire mitigation that will prevent them from catching and burning the way they are this summer in Colorado. Today we have the opportunity to try to work together on immigration.…
