Pete Sessions: “before I get into that, I would like to take one brief moment to note that in an election which took place last night…”

“before I get into that, I would like to take one brief moment to note that in an election which took place last night the winner got 63 million votes, more than anybody who has ever run for President. The winner is a fine Alabaman, Taylor Hicks, who was crowned ``American Idol'' winner last night. I have to tell you I am proud of him. We watched it closely and with enthusiasm. If my wife were voting in a normal election, she would be in jail because she voted more than once for him, I can tell you. And we are thrilled. Taylor is Alabama's third finalist in the show, and after last night's finale, he became the second person from Birmingham to be crowned ``American Idol.'' Of course, that followed Rubin Studdard's victory 2 years ago, and Bo Bice as a runner up last year. We are proud of that fact and we are proud of Taylor Hicks being crowned ``American Idol.'' Mr. President, I am also pleased that the sponsors of the immigration bill we are debating accepted my preemption amendment that I originally offered in committee. That provision, which was included in the current bill, relates to day labor centers and is included in title III. My amendment makes clear that the provisions of title III which regulate the recruiting, referring and hiring of undocumented aliens, preempt any State or local laws.…”