Mr. Speaker. todays house bill H.R. 6061 signals a complete abrogation of responsibility on the part of the House Republican leadership. If they were serious about solving the problems of immigration they would not just introduce another bill that will go nowhere in the Senate. They should instead convene a conference committee. The House passed an immigration bill on December 16th. 2005. and the Senate passed its own version 112 days ago. Instead of moving forward to have a serious discussion to resolve policy differences. they have ground the legislative process to a halt and engaged in acts of political theater. The most notable of these acts was the series of wellpublicized pretend hearings around the country. which were designed to score media points and not resolve differences to move the legislation forward. The introduction and passage of this border security legislation is the latest in a line ot political acts. Rather than continue this game. the majority leadership should be willing to move forward in an honest effort to resolve differences and pass a real bill. Questions of border security and immigration retorm should be dealt with in a very serious manner. By choosing to play politics with an important and sensitive issue we are just breeding more cynicism on the part of the American public and making scapegoats out of both undocumented immigrants as well as the many who are here legally and are feeling increasingly uncomfortable because of this polarization. Fortunately. the American public will have a say in November and have a chance to vote for new leadership and bring an end to the charade surrounding immigration and border security reform.
Keywords matched
undocumented border security immigrants immigration