Political Quotes

“I rise to join my colleague, Senator Alexander, in briefly making reference to a bill which we introduced today and which we will speak about in more detail on the Senate floor tomorrow. At the moment, the Senate is engaged in an important and purposeful debate on the budget. I support Chairman Conrad and his leadership of our Budget Committee. We will cast a series of other important and difficult votes on budget matters later today. But I take 1 minute to say that at a time when there is not enough bipartisanship, I am grateful to Senator Alexander for his leadership and for working with me on an issue that will, I hope, move forward--the debate on how we make the promise and the opportunity of America open to more real job creators. The record shows that a significant number of the most innovative and fastest growing companies in America were founded by immigrants. Immigrants have long contributed significantly to our culture, to our strength, and to our competitiveness. I think this particular bill, which opens a new class of visa for students from outside the United States who would pursue master's or doctoral programs in STEM, is an important step forward. There are many other issues in immigration we need to resolve. There are many other elements we need to reform. But I am grateful for the chance to work with Senator Alexander on this bill and will address it further tomorrow. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of New Mexico).…”