Rubén Hinojosa: “America expects Members of Congress to exemplify what is great about our country. They expect us to represent virtues of…”

“America expects Members of Congress to exemplify what is great about our country. They expect us to represent virtues of tolerance, respect, and intelligence. Generalizations about children, about entire races of people are intolerant, disrespectful, and not very intelligent. Our country expects better from us. Recent comments made by one colleague across the aisle are far below those expectations. Forget for a moment that the DREAM Act is the right thing to do and will help grow our economy. Forget that most DREAMers are the best and the brightest of our country, and that passing the DREAM Act will increase DREAMers' earnings by an aggregate of 19 percent, totaling $148 billion in wages by 2030, triggering more spending on goods and services throughout our economy and generating $181 billion in increased economic growth by 2030, creating millions of jobs for Americans. Forget that providing a strong incentive for DREAMers to further their education will add 223,000 college diplomas to the workforce and open doors to better paying jobs. Forget all that, and remember that these are children and young adults. These are human beings. They deserve better than the derogatory statements of my Republican colleague. The American people deserve better. ____________________”