Speech #1130119481

We hope it is completed a month from now. 6 months from now. But giving the President the same choice he has today by passing this bill doesnt move the process forward. We should be taking advantage of our last few precious weeks before the end of the year to address some of the important pieces of legislation that the Senate has sent over. but somehow what we are debating. repealing the Affordable Care Act for the 53rd time or the Keystone pipeline again and again. somehow this body hasnt had time to even consider or debate or allow a vote on important pieces of legislation like the bipartisan immigration reform package that received more than twothirds support in the United States Senate. There is a companion bill that is bipartisan that has been introduced in the House. There is a discharge petition at the desk for Members to sign to demand a simple upordown vote to fix our broken immigration system. secure our borders. reduce our budget deficit by over $200 billion. There is a discussion of jobs with the Keystone project. Well. let me tell you. this bill on immigration reform that if this body allows a vote on would create over 250.000 jobs for American citizens. Or how about the Employment NonDiscrimination Act? The Senate has acted on a bill that would prevent an employer from firing somebody just because they are gay or lesbian.