Speech #1030066457

Mr. Chairman. never has a freshman had the honor of tying up the House for 4 hours on a simple. clarifying amendment. All we have asked in this amendment is that the agencies that receive Federal funds have a policy that abides by the immigration law. a written policy prohibiting the delivery of services to aliens who are not lawful immigration status. That is what we require of our employers. The Federal Government demands. if you are a plumber. if you are a farmer. if you own a small or a large business. that you keep intricate records of all those people you interview. those people you hire. those people you do not hire. and if you do not keep good records. "We fine you $5.000." But when someone stands up on this floor and says. "I think the recipients of Federal funds ought not to service illegal aliens and receive our Federal funds." you are called a racist. you are called splitting the floor. you are called nonessential to the bill. Well. I think the taxpayers have a different view. Does this organization. this Congress. sound like it is ready to tackle the difficult immigration policies of this Nation? We cannot police our national borders standing shoulder to shoulder with guards as long as the Federal Government hands out stipends to illegal aliens through groups who attract illegal aliens. Yet we ask employers to police our national borders. but we cannot do it even with the Army. The Federal immigration law sets up standards. Are we going to abide by those standards? Are we going to ask recipients of this new entitlement program to live by the immigration laws of the United States of America? Are these immigration laws meanspirited because they say you can only allow so many people into this country. so many people from that country? We are talking here about illegal aliens. I want to remind this body that we accept more legal aliens in this country than all of the countries combined in the world each year. We are not stingy or meanspirited. but we darned well have a right to know that our Government funds are going to citizens. not to Illegal aliens. Why is everyone so angry? Let me tell you why. because in the Dear Colleague letter that was mailed out last night which attempts to say that this will prohibit police services or church services. how ridiculous. It says there on the bottom that my amendment would handicap the very organizations we want to empower through national service. What organizations are those that deal with illegal aliens? I respectfully ask for an "aye" vote for my amendment.