Bob Dole: “I am very concerned that amendments to this bill are being limited because there are many issues that deserve attention…”

“I am very concerned that amendments to this bill are being limited because there are many issues that deserve attention in this debate. For instance, in my home State of North Carolina, we have had a number of fatal automobile accidents caused by an intoxicated person who was in the United States illegally. Sadly, just yesterday morning on Interstate 40 near Raleigh, a man was killed on his way to work when his vehicle was struck by an SUV barreling across the median. The SUV driver, according to initial news reports, is an illegal alien, who now faces a number of criminal charges, including DWI. In several of these incidents, the illegal alien driver has a record of DWI, sometimes repeated offenses, but has been caught and released. Just this past March, in Johnston County, NC, a 9-year-old boy and his father lost their lives in an accident caused by an intoxicated driver who had been convicted twice of drunken driving and had an outstanding warrant stemming from a probation violation--and he was in the United States illegally. Another tragic case was the death of Scott Gardner, a Gaston County school teacher, who was killed in 2005 by a drunk driver--a driver who was an illegal alien with five previous DWI charges. I want to thank my colleague Richard Burr who introduced the Scott Gardner Act to deal with this serious issue, and on the House side, my good friend Sue Myrick has been a true leader on this front.”