Alan Simpson: “I think we have had an interesting debate. We probably will have a little bit more. There is no time agreement here. But…”

“I think we have had an interesting debate. We probably will have a little bit more. There is no time agreement here. But there are some serious distortions presented to us, and that is always vexing because obviously persons are listening to those distortions and taking them to heart. I have been in this business for 17 years, and that is not to say it has been a joyful experience, but it was much more a pleasure when Senator Paul Simon joined this ragged subcommittee consisting of Senator Ted Kennedy and myself because no one else would take on the issue. So for several years it was just a little three-member subcommittee--Senator Kennedy, myself, and Senator Simon--because others would come up to us in the course of the entire year of work saying, ``When you get busy on doing something about illegal immigration, you let me know and I will help you.'' Unfortunately, nobody does help because there are so many cross-currents. I have never seen more--I am not talking about the Senate. I am talking about outside the Senate. I have seen groups hop into the sack with other groups they would not even talk to 10 years ago. I have seen some of the most egregious pandering and prostituting of ideals outside this beltway that I have ever seen, people who are cynical, cynical in the extreme with what they are doing on this issue, some of the think tanks cynical to the extreme. I am not, please hear me, talking about a single person in this arena.…”