Speech #1040264639

Mr. President. Republicans in Congress say they want to work out an immigration bill that can become law. Yet. the only negotiations now going on are between Republicans and Republicans. The struggling Dole campaign is desperately trying to keep the poison pill Gallegly amendment in the bill. over the objections of many Republicans who want to deal responsibly with illegal immigration. Dr. Dole is prescribing a poison pill. but Congress doesnt have to swallow it. The record is clear. Members of both parties have worked together effectively and intensively for the past 2 years to develop bipartisan legislation to address the crisis in illegal immigration. and it is irresponsible for Bob Dole to sabotage the possibility of agreement. This bill had its origin in the work of the bipartisan Jordan commission. which conducted extensive hearings and produced a comprehensive set of recommendations in September 1994. Senator SIMPSON then conducted extensive Judiciary Committee hearings in 1995 on needed enforcement at the border. and on measures to deny jobs to illegal immigrants and prevent document fraud. The Immigration Subcommittee held 3 days of markup in June 1995 and again in November. The full Judiciary Committee considered almost 150 amendments during 8 days in February and March 1996. The full Senate adopted by the bill by an overwhelming vote of 97 to 3 in May. after almost 2 weeks of intense debate. So we know how to work together to develop responsible legislation to combat illegal immigration. But instead of working together in this final stage. Republicans Tuesday canceled our immigration meeting at the last minute. So far. Republicans are still fighting among themselves because of Bob Doles irresponsible 11th hour intervention to salvage his campaign by sinking the bill. so that President Clinton will not have this bill to sign. We need a bill that is tough at the border and tough in the workplace. not tough on children. We need a bill that tackles the problem of document fraud head on. so that illegal immigrants can no longer steal American jobs by using counterfeit documents to pose as legal workers. We need a bill that continues to protect Americans and legal immigrants from job discrimination. We need a bill that preserves the ability of American citizens to bring close family members to the United States. We need a bill that protects all refugees from exclusion. not just those from Cuba. We need a bill that treats legal immigrants fairly under the welfare laws. The current Republican bill winks at unscrupulous employers. and then lowers the boom on innocent school children through the Gallegly amendment. The Nations police officers and educators vigorously oppose the Gallegly amendment. and for good reason.