Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, let me just say that when the Secretary of Defense deems it vital to the national security interests of the United States, this would give that authority to grant this special pathway to the Secretary to make that determination. A special immigrant visa, by the way, to streamline the admission of applicants in the name of national security is not new. My amendment is modeled after a 1949 law granting the Director of the CIA the authority to obtain permanent residency for anyone deemed ``in the interest of national security or essential to the furtherance of national intelligence missions.'' Today, the Secretary of Defense has no mechanism for retaining top technical and scientific talent who are vital to national security. Unsurprisingly, the Department of Defense explicitly endorses the amendment. So, again, my amendment is not new or groundbreaking to the immigration conversation. In fact, again, it provides the Secretary of Defense with the same authority that the Director of the CIA has enjoyed since 1949. This authority is not challenged as a less strident or reckless method that our adversaries exploit because it does not circumvent the current immigration process. All the Secretary of Defense innovation referrals are subject to the same rigorous and extensive background checks that any other applicant receives. I am confident that they will properly vet these applicants as we will keep the best talent in the world working on our behalf.…”