Speech #990274996

I thank the good chairman of the subcommittee and the gentleman from California for their gracious allocation of time. Mr. Chairman. 2 years ago I sat on the floor and listened to the same debate on immigration reform. At that point. immigration reform to me was a hazy and fuzzy concept. as I imagine it is to so many people today. There are all sorts of words like EZD and green card and twotiered legislation that I had not cracked through. and the whole debate seemed rather strange. particularly given the fact that in my district this was not one of the most burning issues facing my constituents. But as I sat and listened to the debate. I saw and became convinced. was unsure parenthetically. about how I would vote on the bill as I sat and listened to that debate. and that is the reason I did it. but I became convinced that what the Senator from Wyoming and the gentleman from Kentucky had put together in SimpsonMazzoli was vital to Americas interests. because we have lost control of our borders. We had had at that point maybe a million people a year coming across and with no system for dealing with them. ways of absorbing them and integrating them into American life. And I also saw that there were millions of those people who came here and lived unprotected. in limbo. exploited. and unable to advance and climb up the ladder as part of the American dream as millions of others before them had done through legal immigration. As I studied the issue further and listened to my good colleagues debate. I became convinced that indeed immigration reform was a test of governance. in a way it is a metaphor for governance. if you will. that this Congress. this good Congress whose members I respect. the institution I love. could really rise and overcome all of the various special interest groups of all types. many of whom I agreed withI support a lot of special interest groupswho were picking at the bill for one reason or another. And the bill failed in conference. I played something of a role there. but it struck me as strange that it should fail over the issue of agriculture. After all. agriculture only accounted for 8 to 15 percent of our immigration into America. And no matter what one felt about the agricultural issue. if one basically believed in the humane and dual concept of SimpsonMazzoli. one would not let agriculture bring the bill down. So 2 years ago I. along with my courageous. and I cannot underscore how courageous they have been. my courageous colleagues. the gentlemen from California embarked on an idea that we could bring labor and agriculture together.