Securing America's Borders Act

SECURING AMERICA'S BORDERS ACT

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, no one has been the beneficiary of legal immigration more than this Senator. My wife, who has the privilege of serving in the President's Cabinet, came to this country at age 8 not speaking a word of English and has realized the American dream and been an important part of my life, obviously, as my partner for a number of years. So I am one Senator who wishes to see a comprehensive immigration reform bill pass.

But the Hagel-Martinez bill is a lengthy, complicated measure, and it was suggested last night by my good friend, the Democratic leader, that somehow it is extraordinary to request 20 amendments on a bill of this magnitude and complexity.

Routinely on bills of this size we have at least this many amendments. In this Congress alone, for example, we had 21 votes on the Energy bill, 37 votes on the budget resolution, and 31 votes on the bankruptcy bill, including a couple of nongermane amendments on minimum wage. All of those bills, of course, were arguably complex, but certainly this one is as well.

We have been allowed to have only three votes on amendments to this bill, and we have been on this bill well in excess of a week. So what Republicans are arguing for today is fairness in the process, the routine, normal way with which we deal with complex legislation here on the floor of the Senate, after which we will produce, hopefully, a comprehensive bill that will be passed on a bipartisan basis. In the meantime, it is my hope and expectation that all Republican Senators will oppose cloture until we are allowed to offer this rather reasonable and modest number of amendments--about 20.

I yield the floor.

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