Connie Mack: “I want to thank Senator Abraham not only for his eloquent statement but also his understanding of the matter of why we…”

“I want to thank Senator Abraham not only for his eloquent statement but also his understanding of the matter of why we have ended up in this situation of having to deal with this issue on an appropriations bill. Again, I appreciate both your effort and your staff's effort over this last week or 10 days to try to keep making the effort to see if there was some way we could come to some agreement that would not have to put the Senate through this debate. So again, your counsel was invaluable, and I appreciate your presence on the floor as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration of the Judiciary Committee. It is very meaningful to have your support, and we thank you very much. Just a couple of other comments, Mr. President. I wanted to indicate some of those who are supportive of this legislation. I have a letter from Empower America that is signed by Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Ambassador to the United Nations; Jack Kemp, former Member of Congress and former Secretary of HUD; William Bennett, former Secretary of Education; Lamar Alexander, former Secretary of Education; and Steve Forbes. All of them are supporting the legislation, making some of the same points that have been made already in the debate this morning. They urge support of the bill.”