Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007

Floor Speech

COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - June 05, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I tried to offer an amendment on May 24, before the week's recess, and I was asked by Senator Kennedy if I would withhold and he would make every effort to allow me to have a vote on my amendment on Social Security for Z visa holders on the first day back, which is today.

Now, I know there have been intervening circumstances, and I am not saying there is any blame here. However, I am asking that we set a time for the vote on my amendment No. 1302, which has been filed but which I was asked to withhold offering. Now I wish to have a time certain, if possible, where we can have a vote on that amendment.

I have to say I have now seen this body operate. What happens on a bill such as this, that is very complicated and long, and especially when you are writing the bill on the floor rather than taking it through the committee process, there are a lot of amendments which are legitimate amendments, yet the distinguished majority leader said he was going to file cloture on the bill tonight. That would ripen on Thursday.

I have three amendments. One is on Social Security protection for America, from any person who works illegally to get credit on Social Security when they are working illegally; another one on the future flow of Y visa holders; and then I have an amendment for people to return home before they come back and become legal guest workers in our country. So those are three amendments I am giving everyone notice I believe are very important, they are productive, they are positive, and they are an effort to make this a bill that Americans will see is the right approach to handling the chaos we have with illegal immigration in our country. I don't want to be squeezed out by cloture or by time deadlines.

If we take 4 weeks on this bill and it becomes a better bill that all of us can support, those who wish to have comprehensive reform, 4 weeks, with the effect this is going to have in the next 25 years for our country, that is nothing. So I hope I will be able to offer my three amendments and get votes on them at some point.

I want to be able to protect my rights, and I want to ask if I could have a time certain to vote on the first Social Security amendment, No. 1302, if that would be possible.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, one of the things I think the managers should do is see if they can get a list of amendments, germane amendments, the minority wants. We have a few on our side. It is at least worth a try to see if we can come up with a list of germane amendments. I ask Senator Kennedy and Senator Specter to see if they can come up with a list of germane amendments that Members think they want to vote on. We already have, as I said, 12 or so pending, and we will take a look at that. I am not even sure the 12 pending are germane. We don't know that either.

Anyway, they can see if they can come up with a list of germane amendments, whether that is three, four, five, whatever it is, and we will take a look at that.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am delighted to deal with the amendment of the Senator from Texas. We have to figure out the order. This is the side of the Republicans now. Senator Cornyn has been waiting, and waiting patiently. The Senator from Texas did mention this. We had contacted the Finance Committee, since it is dealing with Social Security, to see whether they would be able to go, and I hope they will do that and dispose of it very rapidly. The other measures are not in the Finance Committee and we would be glad to deal with those. But dealing with Social Security is the Finance Committee's jurisdiction, and they had some views on that.

I hope we might be able to do the Cornyn amendment. The leader had asked me if we could do the DeMint amendment after the Cornyn amendment. There may be one on our side dealing with health insurance which we would be prepared to do. It is fine with me. I am here and I am ready to go with these amendments, so I will make every effort to get the Finance Committee, and I will stay here with the Senator from Texas until we are able to get this disposed of this evening. I will give you that, as far as I am concerned.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Let me say I am happy for the Finance Committee looking at it. I wish this whole bill had gone through committee so we would know exactly where we stand. If they are for it, great. If they are against it, let us debate it. But let me ask if I could have at least a unanimous consent to bring up the amendments that are filed, No. 1301 and 1302--those are the two Social Security amendments--and then lay them aside, so that at least they are here and I know they will be disposed of.

Mr. KENNEDY. Absolutely.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. My third one, the one that requires the return home, has not been offered yet but it will be germane. We are still trying to work with Senator Kennedy, Senator Kyl, and all the Senators who are involved in this process to try to get a consensus on that return home amendment. So it has not been filed.

If I could ask unanimous consent to bring up amendments Nos. 1301 and 1302, after which I would be happy to set them aside, to make them pending before cloture.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I have given assurance to the Senator from Texas, but I wish to see if we can have a short time. She will retain the right to make that request, but let us see if we can't work out the time now with the Finance Committee. Could we try that before getting consent? Because there has been some question about others who wanted to add a number of amendments on both sides, and we are trying to at least dispose of some of those that are on the list. I will give the assurance that this legislation, at least if I have anything to do with it, is not going to pass or be considered or closed out to the Senator from Texas, because, as she has pointed out, she raised these and we gave assurance she would get them. We were prepared on that Thursday evening, as we were running out of time to do the supplemental and to get the Finance Committee over.

The Senator mentioned, before the majority leader left, that she wanted to offer that, and I regret I had not gotten the Finance Committee members over here. They were marking up I think the CHIP program earlier in the day. That is my only reservation about setting aside now, because there has been objection on both sides to adding more until we start to dispose of some of the underlying amendments.

I will certainly try to get the clearance and work with the Senator and do it within the next few hours, if the Senator would withhold that and give us an opportunity to try to work through that. The Senator is quite correct that we have given her those assurances, and I intend to keep my word to the Senator.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Senator.

Mr. President, I will attempt to work with the Senator from Massachusetts.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is the request withdrawn?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I will withdraw the request, yes.

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