Saxby Chambliss: “I rise to speak briefly on the bill before the Senate and more extensively on a section of this bill I have been working…”

“I rise to speak briefly on the bill before the Senate and more extensively on a section of this bill I have been working on diligently to improve. First of all, I wish to commend the authors of this bill. I have been through complex legislation before and this is a very complex issue. I know how hard the so-called Gang of 8 has worked. We can't please everybody with any complex piece of legislation, but I think they have done a very credible job of putting together a piece of legislation that at least we could get to the floor for debate. I think having this bill on the floor is causing us to have a very important debate that is long overdue. We all know our immigration system is broken and we need to fix it. However, I am disappointed we have not been able to have a full and open debate on potential solutions to fix the system. I have stated publicly that I have serious concerns with several provisions in the bill, including some related to border security triggers, interior enforcement, and the program designed to address our agricultural labor workforce. That last topic-- agricultural labor--is what I wish to spend the majority of my time discussing tonight. But before I focus on the ag piece of this bill, I just have to say that I am terribly disappointed and frustrated at the way this bill has played out. I am about to talk for several minutes or so on straightforward, commonsense amendments to the agriculture portion of the bill.…”