Speech #1010217923

Mr. Speaker. today H.R. 4300 passed the House of Representatives. Although I have reservations about the huge increase in the overall level of immigration set forth by the legislation. I support H.R. 4300. H.R. 4300 increases immigration by a minimum of 65 percent or roughly 300.000 people per year. It is truly a drastic step. and one I do not favor. This feeling is shared by the vast majority of my Republican colleagues. and there is little question that a Republican Congress would have passed a vastly different bill. While I do not support the overall numerical limits in H.R. 4300. I am a strong advocate of the bills provisions to remedy the imbalance in the ethnic makeup of Immigrants to the United States. The current numerical limits on immigration discriminate against 34 old seed sources of immigrants such as Ireland. Since 1965 Uniled States Immigration policy has focused on family reunification rather than country of origin. and the number of Irish allowed to immigrate has fallen by a full twothirds. H.R. 4300 should reverse this trend by setting aside a full 55.000 visas for immigrants from the 34 old seed nations. To reconcile the need to address the current inequity in Immigration policy. while pre. venting the wholesale opening of U.S. borders. I voted for Representative LAMAR SMITHS amendment to cap immigration at 630.000 people per year. the same limit adopted by the Senate earlier this year. The amendment. which unfortunately failed. would have allowed for 130.000 additional visas per year and. more importantly for the Irish. included 50.000 visas for citizens of the 34 countries disadvantaged by current immigration quotas. Although Representative SMITHS amendment failed. I feel that the need to address the current imbalance in U.S. immigration policy outweighs the detrimental Impact of this Increase in immigration. and I am pleased that H.R. 4300 passed the House. I am hopeful that the HouseSenate conference committee can craft a compromise that ensures that both the current ethnic imbalance Is adequately addressed and that the overall increase In annual immigration Is reasonable.