Arlen Specter: “I was about to say some nice things about the Senator from Texas, and I still will. He has been a very active and…”

“I was about to say some nice things about the Senator from Texas, and I still will. He has been a very active and constructive participant in the consideration of immigration reform. In the 109th Congress he was very much involved and contributed greatly. We didn't always agree on a number of items, but he is very sincere, very studious, very thoughtful, and very constructive, and he continues in that role, although as is evident, there are some differences as to our approach. But I commend the Senator from Texas for what he has done and for what he continues to do here. I am in favor of the alternative to the Cornyn amendment. I say that because we have structured the bill with a great many compromises. While I might be inclined to agree with the Senator from Texas on some of the specifics that he has enumerated which would be a bar to citizenship, there was a tremendous amount of give-and-take in the structuring of this bill so that I am standing with the committee bill--strike that. We don't have a committee bill. I wish we did. But I am supporting the bill which came out of the lengthy consultation with about a dozen principal Senators participating. There are a number of specifics, in the amendment which is side by side, which I think are preferable to the amendment by the Senator from Texas. Illustrative of this preference is that the Senator from Texas makes a third conviction for drunk driving a crime of violence.”