Speech #980210326

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of the proposed rule which would allow full consideration of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. commonly known as the SimpsonMazzoli bill. This bill would enact needed reform to our countrys immigration laws which have not seen major change since the early 1950s. Many argue that consideration of such major immigration reform should not be conducted in the politically charged atmosphere of an election year. What are our alternatives? If we put off consideration of SimpsonMazzoli now. when will we consider it? We are all familiar with the necessary business which Congress must conduct in the coming months prior to November. The legitimate concerns which have caused such conflict and have delayed consideration of immigration in the past will not magically disappear by preventing SimpsonMazzoli from coming to the floor. I believe that we must bring this bill up now or we lose the only window of opportunity to consider this bill for the foreseeable future. Immigration reform encompasses a multitude of issues. but the overriding problem which needs to be addressed is one of jobs. I am distressed by the unemployment trends of the past few years. We have seen an unemployment rate which went from under 6 percent in 1979 to over 10 percent nationally in 1983. the largest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.