Speech #990259425

I assure you. will kill the bill. I. for one. will withdraw my support and do everything possible to ensure that we do not have any bill with a guestworker program. The reason why we failed in the last session to reach a conference compromise was for the reason that we were unable to resolve the impasse that had developed on the agricultural question even though it involves only 10 percent to 15 percent of the total undocumented alien problem. The SchumerBermanPanetta compromise has apparently accomplished this and satisfied both the growers and farm labor. Mr. Speaker. for these reasons I urge my colleagues to support the rule. A vote against it is a vote against immigration reform. A vote against it is a vote to preserve the status quo of open borders and of massive exploitation of millions of undocumented aliens in this country. To defeat the rule is to bring about the demise of immigration reform legislation for this Congress. We cannot let that happen. To defeat the rule is to simply put our heads in the sand and allow a pressing problem to become an overwhelming problem.