Immigration Reform

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding the time.

Reforming our immigration system is one of the top issues in our Nation. I was happy to see the Senate act this past June when it passed a comprehensive immigration bill with an overwhelming bipartisan vote.

The Senate bill solves many of the problems with our current immigration system. It creates a pathway to citizenship, secures our borders, addresses the current backlog, and helps the DREAMers, who were brought here through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, the push for immigration reform hit a brick wall when the legislation moved over to the House and Speaker Boehner flatly refused to bring it up for a vote.

Sadly, this is not the first time Speaker Boehner and his irresponsible faction of the House Republican caucus have stood in the way of what is best for the American people, even though there is a clear governing majority that is ready to act. Despite Speaker Boehner's desperate attempt to follow the so-called rule which requires him only to allow votes supported by a majority of House Republicans, the governing majority has been able to pass several pieces of substantive legislation this year.

Just who is this governing majority? It is made up of nearly the entire Democratic Caucus and a handful of moderate, sensible Republicans.

In January of this year, a governing majority of 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans came together to avoid the fiscal cliff, saving our economy from ruin.

Several weeks later, when a majority of the Republican caucus stood opposed to relief for the victims of Superstorm Sandy, it took overwhelming support from Democrats and a small group of Republicans to help those in need.

Shortly thereafter, the House passed the Senate's version of the Violence Against Women Act, providing protections for victims of domestic violence, with unanimous Democratic support and a portion of the Republican caucus.

Then, in March, facing the deadline of a government shutdown, a temporary budget extension to keep the government funded until September 30 also needed the support of the Democrats to pass the House.

Finally, despite claims indicating that the votes weren't there to pass a clean CR, the House reopened the government and avoided default with the unanimous support of Democrats and a group of Republicans.

The reality is, to pass anything with substance, Speaker Boehner needs to stand up to the extreme faction of his party, stop blocking important legislation, and get out of the way and let the House of Representatives work its will. America needs Democrats and Republicans to come together. We have seen what can be accomplished when we are united.

And who are we kidding about the Hastert rule? The Speaker has already violated it multiple times this year.

In the lead-up to the most recent crisis, he said that he didn't want the government to shut down or default on its debts. If Speaker Boehner truly meant that, he would have turned to the governing majority and we would have avoided a 16-day shutdown that cost our country $24 billion in economic activity.

The governing majority has done its job with the fiscal cliff, with aid to Superstorm Sandy, with the Violence Against Women Act, and the recent government shutdown and debt ceiling negotiations. We have escaped manufactured crisis after manufactured crisis. I know that the American people are eagerly waiting for the House of Representatives to pass meaningful legislation that addresses our challenges.

The governing majority is ready to do its job once again with comprehensive immigration reform. As millions of Americans and aspiring Americans are waiting for this body to act, it is time to put aside the theatrical displays, Mr. Speaker. Let us govern so we can bring our brothers and sisters out of the shadows.

I believe that if the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill came to the floor of the House, the governing majority would once again do what is right for the American people and pass this important legislation. Let's vote on the Senate's bill and fix our broken immigration system. The time is now.

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