Madam President, the pending business, then, is the committee-reported substitute amendment, with all postcloture time having been expired; is that correct? I raise a point of order that the Reed of Rhode Island amendment is no longer in…
Madam President, the pending business, then, is the committee-reported substitute amendment, with all postcloture time having been expired; is that correct?
I raise a point of order that the Reed of Rhode Island amendment is no longer in order due to the adoption of the amendment No. 1183.
I raise a point of order that the Cruz amendment is also no longer in order.
I raise a point of order that the Boxer amendment is also no longer in order.
I ask unanimous consent that the next two votes be 10 minutes in duration.
Madam President, during these votes we are going to try to work out a time to finish our work today. As I mentioned earlier today, whenever we have the final vote--whether it is tomorrow afternoon or, if we can work something out, today--I want everyone to be here a few minutes before the time expires so we can start the vote. The vote will not start until Senators are in their assigned seats. If they are not here, we will have a live quorum, and all that will do is slow things up. And we are going to do that.
This legislation has been worked on for many years. We have people who believe strongly in this legislation and people who don't. It is a very important piece of legislation. It is historic in nature, and we should be here to vote, and we are going to be here in our chairs to vote. We don't have a time worked out yet. We are going to do our best. As my friend the ranking member said, we would like it sooner rather than later, but we can't get that unless everybody agrees to a time.
Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that at 4 p.m. today all postcloture time be considered expired; the bill, as amended, be read a third time, and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as amended; that the time until 4 p.m. be equally divided between the Chair and ranking member or their designees, with the final 20 minutes equally divided, with the majority leader--that's me-- controlling the final 10 minutes; further, the following Senators have 8 minutes each from the majority's time: Flake, Bennet, Rubio, Menendez, Graham, Durbin, McCain, and Schumer; and Senator Landrieu has 5 minutes from the majority's time; and on all quorum calls, if there is a quorum call, time will be equally divided between the two parties.
I am informing all Senators that if they are not in their seats when the time arrives, we are going to have a live quorum. We are going to have everybody here when the vote starts. I know people are anxious to leave, but they better be here or I am going to have a live quorum and it will take a lot of time.
I yield time to the Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. President, we are here today to talk about people, not pages of legislation. This bill represents human beings, real people-- yes, immigrants. I am going to talk about two of them today.
Over 20 years ago Astrid Silva crossed the Rio Grande River in a rubber raft wearing a ruffled dress and patent leather shoes. She was 4 years old. She was a baby. She doesn't remember Mexico, the country where she was born. She does remember the day she left Mexico. She cried. She cried because the only thing she could take with her was her baptismal cross and a doll. Her mother cried because although the river was narrow, she knew the current was swift and dangerous--very dangerous. Mother and daughter survived, ducked under a border fence, and began their new lives in America.
A decade passed before Astrid realized she had come to America illegally, without proper immigration papers. Her parents cautiously, slowly explained this to their daughter.
Astrid's eighth grade class was going to leave Las Vegas and take a trip back here to the Nation's Capital. Astrid couldn't go. She didn't go. Her parents were afraid to let her travel for fear she would be arrested. She was undocumented. Flying, you see, without proper identification meant running the risk of being detained or deported.
A few years later, when Astrid's friends learned to drive, Astrid once again was separated from her friends. She couldn't learn to drive. She didn't have even the right to study for the driver's test because she wasn't eligible.
When Astrid's classmates headed off to school across the country, she stayed home. She couldn't leave, so she went to school at a local community college.
Astrid has accepted every challenge, every setback with grace, knowing the obstacles would never outweigh the advantages of growing up in the United States, her home.
Four years ago Astrid's grandmother died. Neither Astrid nor her father could go to Mexico because her dad was also undocumented. They weren't able to go to the funeral. If she left the United States, she couldn't come back. She couldn't come back to the only country she had ever called home.
Then there came a time, and it came slowly, very cautiously, but finally Astrid knew it was time to raise her voice. In effect, she had had enough. It was time for her to come out of the shadows and share her story with her friends and with others. A lot of her friends were just like her, and she could share the stories with them and they could share the stories with each other. It was time for her, her classmates in many instances, and her community to learn who Astrid Silva really was. She spoke up. She told her story.
She decided to find a public place where I would be at a public event and give me the first of many heartfelt letters. I only have a few of them. A few of them didn't make it to my office, but I appreciate each and every one of those letters. Astrid became, very quickly, a DREAMer.
One of the letters I remember so well. She said in the letter words to this effect: I have never, ever as much as stolen even a piece of gum, but I feel like a criminal even though I am not a criminal. I appreciate every one of those letters she sent me because each was a reminder of what is at stake in this debate--a debate that involves our neighbors, friends, and, yes, relatives. Each note, each letter indicates that to me.
This bipartisan legislation the Senate is poised to pass in just a few minutes does not just secure our borders or just mend our broken legal immigration system; this legislation is what
Astrid has advocated, what the DREAMers and others have advocated. This legislation is what she and millions have hoped for and, yes, prayed for. The bill paves the way for people just like Astrid--people who are American in all but paperwork--to become full participants in our great society. It acknowledges the contributions of generations of immigrants who founded this country and built it into the superpower it is today, immigrants such as a man named Israel Goldfarb. He left Russia. He was Jewish, and he was being persecuted, he and his family, so he came to America as a boy. This man was my wife's dad.
I often think of him for a lot of reasons. He died as a real young man. Perhaps a lot of people think he didn't contribute much to our society, but he had one child, my wonderful wife, and now we have 16 grandchildren. So he contributed that--5 children, 16 grandchildren. On his deathbed--as I said as a young man--he gave me his ring. I have worn this ring for those many years. I take it off at night and put it on every day. This watch I have--it stopped running a couple of months ago and the jeweler said: It is broken. It is worn out. It is 50 years old. It is an old-fashioned watch. I have to wind it every morning, but they fixed it. I got the watch back and it is good for another 50 years. I could buy a different watch, but I am not one to buy a different watch. These are who I am and they remind me every day of this man who came to America as Israel Goldfarb and, similar to all of his family, changed his name to Earl Gould. My wife, when I met her as a sophomore in high school, was Landra Gould.
So this bipartisan legislation we are poised to pass in just a little while does not just secure our borders or just mend our broken legal system; this legislation that has been advocated paves the way for people such as Astrid and, frankly, people such as my father-in-law, may he rest in peace. It acknowledges the contributions of generations of immigrants who founded this country.
This historic legislation recognizes that today's immigrants came for the right reason--the same reason generations before them, the same as Israel Goldfarb--to achieve a dream we take for granted, a right to live in a land that is free.
Ted Kennedy said it best:
From Jamestown, to the pilgrims, to the Irish, to today's
workers, people have come to this country in search of
opportunity. They have sought nothing more than a chance to
work hard and bring a better life to themselves and their
families. They came to our country with their hearts and
minds full of hope.
That is what Ted Kennedy said, and the bipartisan legislation before the Senate respects and fulfills that hope--the hope and the prayers of Astrid and millions just like her. It will help 11 million people who are tired of looking over their shoulders and fearing deportation to get right with the law and start down a pathway to citizenship.
That path is going to be very hard, with penalties, fines, work, paying taxes, staying out of trouble, and learning English, but they are willing to do that, every one of them. It will mean going to the back of the line. It is tough, I repeat, but it is fair.
Above all, this legislation is very practical. It makes unprecedented investments in our borders. It cracks down on crooked employers, such as those Senator McCain talked about earlier today, that exploit and abuse immigrant workers, and it reforms our legal immigration system.
This legislation will be good for America's national security as well as its economic security. This will reduce the deficit by $1 trillion. How is that for economic security.
Six years ago, the last time we considered a sweeping immigration overhaul--led by Senator McCain and, yes, that good man who became Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar--it didn't work. The prospects for a bipartisan solution were very dim. On the last day, the immigration bill fell because of a procedural roadblock. But Ted Kennedy urged those of us who believed deeply in its cause to keep the faith. Here is what he said.
We will be back and we will prevail. . . . America always
finds a way to solve its problems, expand its frontiers, and
move closer to its ideals. It is not always easy, but it is
the American way.
That is what Ted Kennedy said.
Because of the Gang of 8--these courageous Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans; Schumer, Durbin, Menendez and, of course, the quiet one who did so much, Senator Bennet, and John McCain, whom I admire so much. He and I came to the Congress together more than 31 years ago. We came to the Senate together. Have we fought with each other? Oh, yes. But we care a great deal about each other. John McCain, no matter what happens, I will be his friend and he will be my friend. I admire what he has done. He was truly a leader, as he has been for so long in this country.
Lindsey Graham. He is up for reelection. Is this a badge of courage? It sure is. Marco Rubio, Jeff Flake, I admire every one of them. I am not going to forget about Bob Corker. I am not going to forget about mentioning Governor Hoeven. They allowed us to get votes. I will always admire these two, again, courageous men who stepped forward, stepped out of the crowd and did something that was right.
They are wonderful, all of them. Senator Kennedy knew the day would come when a group of Senators, divided by party but united by a love of country, would see the fight to the finish, and that is what we did. That is what these 10 men allowed us to do.
I am not going to ever forget about the man seated right behind me, Senator Leahy. His markup will go down in history. It was why we are here today. He is my friend. As always, I will always admire how he handles everything he does but especially what he did on this bill.
So today is the day. While I am sad Senator Kennedy isn't here to see history made, I know he is looking at us proudly and loudly. Remember that voice? And he is not alone. I have no doubt my father-in-law is here in spirit. Astrid Silva is here today. I am sure she is in the gallery someplace, and she will be looking down from where she is seated when the Senate votes to expand this country's frontiers and move closer to its ideals.
But she is not here alone. She is here representing millions of others just like her--people who have hoped and prayed for this day. Their prayers have been answered. But these prayers--their hopes and prayers--have not gotten us to the finish line yet. The finish line is very close to here, down this very long hallway to the House of Representatives.
In closing, I am reminded of a poem, a song. Here is what it says:
I can see a new day, a new day soon to be, when the storm
clouds are all past and the sun shines on a world that is
free. I can see a new man, a new man standing tall, with his
head high and his heart proud and afraid of nothing at all. I
can see a new day, a new day soon to be, when the storm
clouds are all past and the sun shines on a world that is
free.
Colleagues, I am confident the House of Representatives will pass this legislation because I can see a new man, a new man standing tall with his head high, his heart proud, and afraid of nothing at all.
The bill (S. 744), as amended, was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.