Speech #990259404

Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support the rule for H.R. 3810. the immigration reform bill. Many Members have legitimate concerns about many provisions in this bill. but without approval of this rule. we may not be able to pass an immigration bill at all. We may repeat the tragedy of 1984. when. after having worked so hard for so long. we failed in the 11th hour to pass much needed immigration reform legislation. Lets not go down that path again. The SchumerBermanPanetta compromise provision on agricultural workers is fragile in the extreme. It has taken 10 months to reach. and I believe it does a better job of balancing the need for a sufficient agricultural work force and our desire to protect those workers from exploitation than any other alternative before us.