National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, the DREAMers in this country are deeply patriotic.

For many, America is the only country they have ever known. It is the country they love and call home. Many want nothing more than the chance to serve the United States in uniform.

The Brooks amendment cruelly seeks to deny these talented young people that opportunity. It would strike my amendment encouraging the Secretary of Defense to use his authority under existing law to enable DACA recipients to enlist.

If we approve this amendment, we leave the deeply unjust status quo unchanged. Right now, in America, DREAMers can be drafted into the military, but they can't sign up to serve in the military force they choose. That is simply unacceptable. These young people are Americans in every respect, except on paper.

I fought in Iraq, and I know what really matters on the battlefield isn't whether you have the right papers; it is whether you have the heart to fight, patriotism for your country, and the right character.

Mr. Chairman, for the good of our country, I hope we will defeat this deeply misguided Brooks amendment.

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