Further Continuing Appropriations Resolution
Floor Speech
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I thank the gen tle lady from New York.
Mr. Speaker, what we are talking about here is simply kicking the can down the road for 3 weeks. The facts on the ground don't change in 3 weeks. Guess what, President Obama is still President of the United States in 3 weeks. Guess what, Harry Reid is still the minority leader with enough votes to prevent something from reaching the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
All we are doing is giving the Republicans yet another chance 3 weeks from now to remind the American children of undocumented parents that they want to deport Mom and Dad and to remind DREAMers, aspiring Americans who grew up here and know no other country, that they should be deported to a country they don't even know, haven't been to, and might not even speak the language of. That is not the way to win friends and influence people.
Look, when you are going to people in an election cycle, it doesn't matter how great your agenda is. It might be great for their economics and their pocketbook; it might be great for their values. But you know what, if you are trying to deport Mom and Dad, you are not going to get past the front door.
Yet here we are, sending ourselves on a cycle where every 3 weeks, every 2 weeks, every 6 weeks, apparently, the Republicans want to remind American children that they want to deport Mom and Dad. Apparently the Republicans want to remind young people who grew up here, who know no other country, who might want to serve in our military, who might be a cheerleader or on the football team at high school with your kids, Mr. Speaker, that they, too, should be deported to a country that they don't know, where they speak a language that they might not even speak.
That is just simply not a winning electoral strategy, and it is contrary to our values as Americans. It is against family values. It is against the values of our Nation, as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.
Those two can be reconciled through sensible, comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our broken immigration system. And yes, it is broken; and yes, President Obama's first steps don't completely fix it; but together, we can make it work.
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