John Cornyn

May I ask, Mr. President, how much of my time remains? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.

I thank the Chair. I wish to get a 2-minute notice, please. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator will be notified.

I would ask notice from the Chair after I have expended 10 minutes of my 12-minute time so I know I have a couple of minutes remaining, please. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 8 minutes remaining.

Again, Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Buck and the five others deserved new hearings, and the five others got the new hearings, as that story said.

It is $8.3 billion. They allocate some of that money for the purposes set out in the underlying bill. My amendment reallocates some of that same trust fund for other purposes, including additional personnel. There is no additional money…

If I can explain to the Senator from Arizona, this is the trust fund created by the underlying bill on page 872. Mr. McCAIN. With a finite amount of money in it.

It comes in the same trust fund that is created on page 872 of the bill. Mr. McCAIN. There is a finite amount of money that is authorized. If the Senator takes money from one and adds money one place, it has to come from someplace else…

I agree with your comments that you started out with in saying that, if we need a clarion call to Congress that we have asked the IRS to do much more than its core function.

I share Senator Hatch's and others' comments and concerns about the denials that have occurred over the course of time that any targeting was taking place, when we now know that that targeting was in fact taking place.

If we cannot trust the IRS to perform its functions impartially and in accordance with the rule of law, the confidence of the American people will be shaken to its very core.

Well, I do not think that qualifies as an apology. It qualifies as an expression of regret, which I think is well-deserved.

I want to thank you and Senator Hatch for convening this hearing in a strong bipartisan way.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I know Senator Cruz, who joined me there, appreciates the comments about people's concerns, condolences, grieving with people who lost their life in that terrible incident last week.

Do you have any reason to disagree or differ with that estimate?

My concern is the cartels and the human traffickers are far more nimble and are able to--an annual decision just seems to me to be unworkable.

Can you appreciate the skepticism that people feel when they hear that again?

I agree that if people want to come here and work, then having a legal system for them to do so is important.

I believe that justice and fairness and compassion are not incompatible with the rule of law.

There are those who say it has been adequately addressed in this bill.

That will not only provide a more secure border, but it will also enhance that cross-border commerce and trade in a way that helps grow jobs and grow the economy here in the United States.

Here we are 16 years later and it still has not been done.

I do not believe and I do not think you believe, you can speak for yourself, that building a fence across a 2,000 mile southern border is the answer.

Can you explain to me why Congress would want to discriminate against the construction industry and treat them any differently than the agriculture industry?

I have always thought it kind of bizarre that we measure our success by the people we catch and do not focus on the people who got away as a measure of our lack of success.