Sam Brownback: “I want to follow the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and make brief comments about the immigration bill that came…”

“I want to follow the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and make brief comments about the immigration bill that came out of our committee with a strong, bipartisan vote. It is a big issue. It is a tough issue. It is a tough issue that is confronting America. I believe that is what this body should be about-- dealing with big, tough issues confronting America. That is what the committee came through and did. The bill that came out of the committee today is not the final product. I think it needs substantial adjustment. Hopefully, during the 2-week period we are going to be discussing this bill on the floor, we will have a lot of discussion and we will get a final product that we can agree on that strengthens the immigration system. Currently, our system is not working. It has not worked for some period of time. It has not worked for the country. It has not worked for the people wanting to come into the country. It needs to be changed. There is no question about it. One specific item I wish to talk about is the need for comprehensive reform. The reason we need it is because of our past experience, when we have had just pieces of comprehensive reform. A quick bit of history: In 1986, we had 3 million undocumented individuals in the United States, and Ronald Reagan put forward an amnesty program.…”