Monday, October 29, 2007

Cornyn: Dream Act Has Nothing to Do With Helping Children

Senator Cornyn sent me an email today. I can't remember what it was about, but I do know it didn't mention the DREAM ACT. He had a link to his web page so I thought I'd look it up and see if he mentioned anything.

The day the vote went down on the DREAM ACT, Cornyn sent out a press release that really surprised me.

His comment on the DREAM ACT:

"this bill had nothing to do with helping children"


The man must be blind.

-----
Cornyn: Americans Deserve Action On Immigration Reform, Not Political Posturing
Wednesday, October 24, 2007

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement today regarding his vote against the motion to proceed to the DREAM Act (S. 2205), which was introduced by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The motion to proceed, which required 60 votes, was rejected by a bipartisan vote of 52 to 44.

“This was a difficult vote because I have a great deal of sympathy for the plight of children who have no moral culpability for being in this country illegally. Congress must continue seeking reasonable and responsible ways they can complete their education and achieve opportunity.

“Unfortunately, this bill had nothing to do with helping children or addressing the critical issue of immigration reform, and everything to do with political posturing and partisan gamesmanship by the Senate Democratic leadership. This lack of seriousness was demonstrated by the decision to prevent any amendments to even be considered, including one that I sought to introduce which would have added a graduation requirement to the bill. If the goal is to promote education and strengthen our skilled workforce, and the proponents of the Durbin bill were serious about that objective, then one has to wonder why the bill did not even require students to complete a degree.

“Further, the decision to prohibit amendments left open the gaping loopholes that would allow certain categories of criminals, including gang members, to apply, while tying the hands of law enforcement by denying them basic information on the backgrounds of these individuals.

“The reality is that America is facing a critical immigration problem, and the American people deserve bipartisan action from their leaders in government. I stand ready to work with my colleagues in both parties to address this issue in a comprehensive and bipartisan way. I am disappointed, however, that once again today we saw a lack of commitment by some to doing the hard work that the American people deserve.”

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee.

No comments: