Dan Coats: “I thank the Senator from Vermont. I appreciate what he has said about this issue. This is a debate we need to undertake…”

“I thank the Senator from Vermont. I appreciate what he has said about this issue. This is a debate we need to undertake, and we are doing so. We are doing it in a way that the Senate in my previous experience has essentially dealt with legislation. We have brought it to the floor and it has come through the regular process. The committee has held extensive hearings on the issue. There is a national debate going on. We are hearing from our constituents back at home. I am not on the committee that has jurisdiction here, but I have been following it carefully in terms of what has been presented, the bill that has been drafted, the amendments that have been offered, which ones have succeeded, and which ones haven't. This is a major issue which deserves and is getting--unlike most of what has happened here in the last couple of years--a thorough debate, with opportunities to offer amendments, with opportunities to work to find ways to address concerns about the current legislation before us. That is why I voted for the motion to proceed. This is an issue that needs to be discussed so that, hopefully, a system we know is broken--I think there is pretty much unanimous agreement on the fact our current immigration system is full of flaws and has not achieved what was promised when the initial legislation was passed.…”