I must point out to my colleagues that a significant portion of the comments I just made are over 20 years old. I changed a few names and a few numbers. but the substance remains the same. It took the proponents of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 3 years to put a bill together. This effort took 3 months. Despite the rhetoric to the contrary. the bill before us today constitutes a massive amnesty one several orders of magnitude larger than the one undertaken 20 years ago. I do not understand how this body has failed to learn from its mistakes. I commend the sincerity. the diligence. and the good faith of this bills proponents. but I cannot agree in its result. I fail to understand how a massive guest worker program that constitutes an end run around our immigration system is a good idea. I fail to understand how an amnesty for millions of illegals is a good idea. I fail to understand how a bill that does not address the root causes of our immigration crises is a good idea. I ask my colleagues. why does this legislation ignore the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reforman entity that spent 7 years examining the issue of immigration and making recommendations for this august body? Why do we insist on pursuing failed policies? We have an obligation to the American people to leave no stone unturned in this debate. but we have failed to live up to that obligation.
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