On the recordSeptember 19, 2019
I want to recognize my appreciation for the Senator from Georgia, who has expressed a good-faith, earnest desire to work with me on this legislation. I want very badly to get this passed. It needs to pass. I want to talk for a few minutes about the reasons this legislation needs to pass. I believe this legislation, as amended, as I proposed to be enacted today with Lee amendment No. 939, is itself ready to be passed into law. In my opinion, there is no justifiable cause for delay. We will continue to work on it. I wish we could pass it today. It should be passed today because it is ready. The bill we are talking about, of course, is the Fairness for High- Skilled Immigrants Act. This is an important, bipartisan piece of legislation, one that I have been proud to sponsor, along with Senator Harris, who has been my Democratic partner on this issue. The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act has been a priority of mine for many years, nearly the entire time I have been in the Senate. During that time, it has been the subject of strong debate and a lot of scrutiny on the Hill. Like most bills, its path to becoming law has not always been straight or clear and certainly not clear of obstacles. But with the passage of the companion bill in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 365 to 65, I believe that now is the moment we really can finally move forward with this small but critically important fix to our immigration system.…





