Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish to take some time today to talk about immigration before us, its flaws, and what needs to be done to fix it. I first wish to note that I voted in favor of reporting this legislation out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I worked in good faith with my colleagues to secure the inclusion of provisions addressing things such as high-skilled immigration and a new agricultural visa program. Indeed, throughout the Judiciary Committee process, I was a willing negotiator on many important issues surrounding this bill. In general, I am in favor of immigration reform, and I wish to see this bill succeed. I also wish to commend my colleagues for their work on this legislation so far. Up to now, I think that process has been fair. It has been transparent, and, I believe, bipartisan. I hope that will continue now that the bill is on the floor. It is important we continue to work on a bipartisan basis because the bill is far from perfect. One can't look at it without knowing that. In my view, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed before this legislation is ready for final passage. During the Judiciary Committee's consideration of S. 744, I introduced four amendments on issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee. At that time I stated that my continued support for the bill is contingent on whether those issues were addressed before final passage.…”