Speech #980109056

It is not so understandable that the Speaker. who has so passionately denounced the Reagan Administration for indifference to the plight of unemployed American citizens. should be so lax about pushing a bill that would provide jobs for them. SimpsonMazzoli is not perfection. but it is a vast improvement over what now exists and it is to be passed and gotten out of the way before election session partisanship destroys its prospects. On May 20 of this year. the Cincinnati Inquirer concluded that: No amount of border patrolling will halt the flow of illegals. But enough courage in Congress and the executive branch now and in the future might. The Nation needs a tough. nononsense immigration law fast. The Arizona Republic. on April 18. 1983. observed that something must be done to put the United States back in control of its borders. especially with the problem of illegal aliens pouring in from Mexico. To repeat: "Something must be done. and SimpsonMazzoli could be a start." The Dallas Times Herald on May 28. 1983. aptly observed: The U.S. Senate has passed badly needed immigration reform legislation. It is up to the House to follow suit and provide the Federal Government with the tools needed to stem the tide of illegal aliens into this country. The Buffalo Evening News. on February 28 of this year. declared: It is a pity that Congress failed to revise the Nations tattered immigration laws last year. But the reintroduction of these reforms by the leading advocates of change. Senator Alan Simpson from Wyoming. and Romano Mazzoli from Kentucky. recognizes that something must be done because the problem has not disappeared. The Baltimore Sun on June 5. 1983. in its editorial about the SimpsonMazzoli bill stated: The effort is worthy of success this year. as it was last year when similar efforts died in the House. Immigration reform is sorely needed and long overdue. October 5. 1.988 The Providence. R.I.. Journal described the SimpsonMazzoll bill in its February 28. 1983. editorial as: The most comprehensive reform of the immigration laws in the last 30 years. The editorial further described the failure of the 97th Congress to enact this reform legislation as "a particularly unfortunate failure of the legislative process." Mr. Speaker. the editorial support for the SimpsonMazzoli bill goes on and on and represents a broad basis of support throughout the Nation.