Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I would like to thank the senior Senator from New York for all of his efforts over many years to make sure first responders from 9/11 receive the settlements they deserve.

I rise today to speak in strong support of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act will enable some of the best and brightest young people who have graduated from our schools to serve in the Armed Forces and to excel in college and their careers. The DREAM Act actually raises revenue to reduce our deficit. It is for these reasons that the DREAM Act has a history of bipartisan support and why I urge my colleagues to support this bill today, both Republicans and Democrats.

I have been a strong supporter of comprehensive immigration reform that will secure the border, reform our broken family and employment visa systems, address employers who willfully break the law, and require the undocumented to register and become legal, pay a fine, pay their taxes, learn English, and pass criminal background checks.

Unfortunately, Washington has been unable to get comprehensive immigration reform done, even as our immigration system becomes more and more broken. As a result, we need to look at smaller measures to make sure we are addressing the immigration issues that cannot wait. For instance, recently the Senate approved $600 million to send 1,500 new Border Patrol agents, additional unmanned aerial drones, and communications equipment to our southwest border in order to stem the flow of undocumented immigration and prevent the further smuggling of weapons and money. This is an effort I supported.

The DREAM Act is another step toward improving the overall system. It is a program targeted to a relatively small, defined, select group of immigrants who are currently in this country with few options through no fault of their own. These are students and graduates of our schools who did not choose to come here but have succeeded and begun to contribute to our country.

This debate is about whether a child who has excelled in the classroom has the opportunity to attend college and later contribute to society as a tax-paying citizen. This debate is also about whether a child whose only home is our country can have the opportunity to serve America in our Armed Forces. It is about whether it makes good fiscal sense to have our government invest in the education of these young people and generate what the Congressional Budget Office estimates to be $1.4 billion in savings through new revenues to be generated when these kids enter our workforce armed with an education or valuable military experience.

Each year, roughly 65,000 U.S. school students who would qualify for the DREAM Act benefit graduate from high school. These include honor roll students, star athletes, talented artists, homecoming queens, aspiring teachers, doctors, and U.S. solders. As a former superintendent of the Denver public schools, I saw firsthand the achievement and potential for these young people, students such as Kevin, who wrote my office this fall to tell his story.

Kevin graduated from high school in Colorado with a 3.9 grade point average and has always dreamed of becoming an engineer. He graduated from the University of Denver with a 3.5 grade point average, and a bachelor of science in electrical engineering with a specialization in control and robotics and a minor in math. Unfortunately, because of his status and despite the fact that our country is in desperate need of engineers, Kevin cannot pursue his dream of becoming an engineer and is now working at a fast food restaurant. This is just one example of our failed politics, where Washington settles for rhetoric over common sense.

According to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, about 35,000 noncitizens serve and 8,000 permanent resident aliens enlist in our military every year. In a letter to Senator Durbin this past September, the Defense Secretary wrote that the DREAM Act represents an opportunity to expand this pool to the advantage of military recruiting and readiness.

Passing the DREAM Act will provide the opportunity for Fanny, another young woman who reached out to my office, to serve in the military. She came to Denver at the age of 7. When she entered high school, Fanny joined the Air Force ROTC Program, the drill team and the Color Guard. Her dream was to attend the Air Force Academy and serve in the military. Unfortunately, Fanny is barred from service in spite of the fact that this is the only home she knows. Rather than opening the door to service in this time of war, young people like Fanny who want to stand proudly and serve our country are precluded from doing so.

Taxpayers also stand to gain from the DREAM Act. We will receive a significant return on investment through the contribution of these youth to our society and the revenue generated by their newly legalized, tax-paying status. It has been estimated by the CBO that successful DREAM Act applicants will generate $2.4 billion in new tax revenue. This is based on the fact that these youth will be able to transition into higher paying jobs and will be paying their fair share of taxes.

If we are going to get our fiscal house in order, we need to make sure we are getting a full return on our investment and not closing the door on new tax revenues.

I know many of my colleagues may still be undecided on whether to move forward on the bill. Some have supported the DREAM Act in the past, only to move away from it in the face of heated rhetoric around the issue of immigration. I ask that before any of them make a final decision, they step back and take a fresh look at the facts and the reality facing these youth.

Support for the DREAM Act is not only a matter of conscience for me since it is the right thing to do, it is also a practical solution. Continued delay is an irresponsible waste.

We owe it to the taxpayers who have invested in the education of these youth, the teachers who have fostered their development, and our military who can benefit from these new recruits to move forward on the DREAM Act. I plan to vote yes and strongly urge my colleagues to do the same.

I yield the floor.

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