Cord Byrd: “the bill authorizes $25 billion over 5 years in appropriations. This amendment by Senator Gregg and myself funds $3…”

“the bill authorizes $25 billion over 5 years in appropriations. This amendment by Senator Gregg and myself funds $3 billion of that amount. This is a modest sum, a modest amendment, a modest fee increase that Senator Gregg and I are asking for. The pending bill would provide amnesty for the illegal aliens who would benefit from the bill. It would provide a path leading to U.S. citizenship. It would provide access to taxpayer-funded benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, unemployment compensation, food stamps. Illegal aliens who would benefit from the bill are getting a lot, significantly more than what they are being asked to pay into the system. I don't believe that it is too much to ask that they help to fix the border security system that they sought to undermine. This amendment is specific. It targets those areas identified by the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee that are most in need of funds. I also note that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill would authorize $25 billion in appropriations over the next 5 years. Six billion of that is authorized for fiscal year 2007, and Senator Gregg and I, as the chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, are going to be asked to fund many of these border security authorizations. We need a source of revenue with which to do it.…”