Political Quotes

“this afternoon we will have an important vote, some might say even historic vote, on the motion to proceed to the immigration reform bill. I was here in 2007, the last time that subject was on the floor of the Senate. It proved to be a divisive and tough issue that we could not get through. But I think if there is one thing that I sense, in terms of my constituents in Texas and sort of the impression I get generally speaking, it is that the American people believe that the status quo on immigration is unacceptable. Some of our colleagues have actually called the status quo de facto amnesty because essentially there is lawlessness in our broken immigration system. What we need to do is restore law and order and predictability and make sure our immigration system works in the best interests of the United States. That is true in a number of ways that are included in the underlying bill as it was voted out of the Judiciary Committee. So I will vote yes on the motion to proceed because I think it is important we take up this debate. The majority leader has indicated we are going to be debating this and offering amendments over the next 3 weeks. I think that is a good period of time for the American people to understand what is in the bill and to listen to pro and con debates and to make up their mind how they want their elected representatives to proceed.…”