Richard Blumenthal

I have been a long-time advocate of the DREAM Act, both as State Attorney General and now as a United States Senator.

I just differ with you strongly on the politics of this issue, and I think your argument really is grounded in a very pessimistic view of what the American public will support.

I have joined as a leading cosponsor, with thanks to Senator Klobuchar and Senator Hatch, for their effort in championing this reform.

You have given us a new DREAMer to call a model for why we should pass this act and expedite the earned citizenship status.

What I would like to see us do, as Senator Blumenthal put so well, is to embrace the enormous opportunity presented for us to deal with immigrants in America not as a problem but as a great path forward together to build a stronger, more…

I think to characterize it as amnesty would be rejected by many of us who support it, the idea of earning citizenship by paying back taxes, paying a penalty, learning English, going to the back of the line, and in the case of the DREAMers…

I really do believe that we are at a moment, a historic moment, when a big deal_and immigration reform is a big deal--would be accepted by the public, and I think would be inspiring to the public because we are Nation of immigrants.

I am very concerned, as my colleagues have said, about the effect on our defense industrial base.

Reasonable regulation are consistent and, in fact, the genius of our Constitution.

There is a tension between those constitutional rights.

I call on the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, to repudiate and reject it.

None of them is absolute.

My strong belief is that we ought to do everything possible to enable more effective prosecutions under existing laws.

It is essentially dead letter.

I think many of us on this Committee are aware, but maybe not most Americans, that you often know that a crime has been committed, and you know who has committed it, but you need more than that knowledge on your part.

And nobody has ever suggested that a criminal, a convicted felon or a fugitive or a drug addict or someone seriously mentally ill, dangerous to himself or others, or a domestic violence abuser has a fundamental Second Amendment right to…

This decision is a tremendous setback for an effort that really has been ongoing for years, if not decades.

Our defense industrial base is often unappreciated, our civilian workforce and the tremendous skills they bring to the production at Electric Boat.

The failure to provide the training and career opportunities to them that are needed, I think, would be one of the most catastrophic consequences of sequester.

I am very regretful and disappointed that the decision has been made to abandon it after devoting a billion dollars.

I think the defense industrial base is under threat, and it is the skilled, dedicated workforce that is the companion asset to our men and women in uniform that are so important.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 6:41 p.m., adjourned until Thursday, February 7, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. ____________________

At noon on Thursday, Senator-designate Cowan will be sworn in. We hope to reach an agreement to complete action on the Violence Against Women Act on Thursday. ____________________

I welcome your willingness to work with the committee and your openness to additional ideas.

The proposal I support has been advanced by Senator Gillibrand.