Bill Pascrell: “Because I listened very carefully, I hope that, while I am opposed to the rule, we are debating a bill, in my…”

“Because I listened very carefully, I hope that, while I am opposed to the rule, we are debating a bill, in my estimation, to reinforce negative stereotypes about the immigrants. I have listened to the response, perhaps, to that. Are you impugning through the Chair the record of Democrats on fulfilling our oath of office, the first part of which is to defend America from within and from without? That is the oath of office. As co-chairman of law enforcement in the Congress of the United States for over 14 years, I am very close to the law enforcement community. I think we ought to hesitate a second before we start pointing fingers. We are good at it, all of us, on both sides. While we are doing that, most of our constituents are concerned about how to defend middle class jobs and bolster our manufacturing base. The majority of Americans agree that keeping U.S. jobs from moving overseas should be a top priority. Yet, despite the empty promises made by this President, the flow of jobs overseas has not stopped. Mr. Speaker, the administration had awarded government contracts to companies that continue to offshore jobs. This is worse than empty words. These are the facts. In fact, we use our tax money to help those corporations go offshore. I hope that makes you feel really good. In December, then-President-elect Trump told hundreds of workers at the Carrier manufacturing plant in Indiana that he would save their jobs.…”