Speech #980214713

Speaker. I call to the attention of my colleagues an article printed in yesterdays Washington Post by Lawrence H. Fuchs. former executive director of the Selection Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy. Mr. Fuchs comments on the immigration bill deserve careful reading because they are a reasoned and balanced analysis of what has become a controversial issue. We cannot avoid controversy and as representatives of districts that reflect the pluralism and diversity of this great Nation. there are bound to be differences. But if this body is to come to rational conclusions it must do its work on the basis of the facts. it must avoid. as Mr. Fuch points out. the "burst of hyperbole" that accompanies heated debate in Congress. Reference was made to statements by two of our colleagues who have opposing viewpoints. but whose characterization of the immigration bill are extreme. Just last month I had to deal with horror stories and hyperbole directed against the equal access bill I sponsored. and I can attest that it does not serve our institution or the public in-