Political Quotes

“we are in the process of considering an omnibus budget bill. It is over 2,000 pages long. In fairness, it includes many provisions of legislation that has been worked on by many of us for months, so it isn't a surprise package, by and large. There are elements in it that are new and that have been recently negotiated, but the underlying bill--the appropriations bills included in it--has been the subject of committee hearings and negotiations literally for months. I know that because since last year, we have been working on the Defense Department appropriations, which is included in the bill. My reason for coming to the floor, though, is to address an issue that is not included in the omnibus bill--one that I believe should be and one that is timely and compelling--and there is no reason why it is not included. It relates to those young people who were brought to the United States by their parents when they were infants, toddlers, children, and ended up in undocumented status in this country. Some of them--a very small number of them--may have been smuggled across the border into the United States. More likely, a common situation is that they came here on a visitor's visa with their parents, the visa expired, and they stayed. That accounts for almost half of those who are currently undocumented in the United States. The difference is obvious.…”