Political Quotes

“Madam President, I urge my colleagues to oppose the Sessions amendment. It does two things. First, it requires legal permanent residents in the United States to produce documentary proof of their legality. We tried this under Medicaid and found out that many people in our country, the elderly and others, found it difficult to produce documentation though they were clearly eligible and clearly legal and entitled to basic assistance. Instead, our bill that we passed, health care reform, verifies that a person is legal by declaration of their Social Security number, which is verified. So we go through a good process here to make sure only those eligible will receive, and, secondly, what Senator Sessions' amendment does, is say to legal permanent residents paying taxes, they cannot use the Tax Code like other citizens for deductions and credits for 5 years. They are paying taxes under the Tax Code. They should be allowed the same tax credits as other Americans, other people living in this country. I urge my colleagues to defeat it for those two reasons, and the fact that this is an attempt to derail this bill. I move to table the Sessions amendment and ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the motion. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.”