Political Quotes

“I rise to discuss a small amendment that deals with a problem each one of us has heard about in our States--the extremely long backlog at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. One of the privileges of being a Senator is being able to help constituents. In my State offices, I get thousands of requests from Illinoisans trying to get their VA benefits or clear up a problem with their Social Security check or deal with any number of government bureaucracies. It is great when we can get involved and help folks cut through the redtape. We are helping make government work, one case at a time. If your office is like mine, a large number of the cases involve immigration. And if your office is like mine, the most common complaint involves FBI name checks. I have only been in office 16 months, but in that time I have received 2,211 requests for assistance on immigration; 426 of these cases, almost 1 in 5 deal with the FBI name check. One step that legal immigrants have to take to stay in the country lawfully is going through a security check by the FBI. This is a standard procedure, and it is critically important to screen the folks to which we are granting citizenship and permanent residence. Unfortunately, the system is overwhelmed. The FBI's National Name Check Program is asked to review 62,000 names a week--62,000 a week. In 2005, the FBI was asked to check 3.3 million names, a 20-percent jump from 2001.…”