[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Barr] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week the Committee on 
the Judiciary of this 104th Congress reported out, after extended 
hearings and even more extended markup, immigration reform legislation 
which for the very first time in modern times will in fact actually 
substantively and positively reform both the system of illegal 
immigration and our efforts by this Government to combat this 
tremendous drain on our national resources as well as legal 
immigration.
  I am happy to have been a part of that process, but what makes me 
even happier is an event that happened in my own district in Smyrna, 
GA, this past Monday evening. This past Monday evening, State 
Representative Randy Sauder pulled together for the very first time in 
the district--and probably for the first time in the State of Georgia--
a comprehensive task force to study the effects of illegal immigration 
and to develop solutions to the problem of illegal immigration in our 
district.
  Representative Sauder pulled together as members of this task force, 
in addition to myself and representatives from other congressional and 
Senatorial offices, a vast array of local and State law enforcement 
officials, other State representatives, municipal authorities, police 
chiefs, other law enforcement officials, the regional director of the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, representatives of the 
Department of Labor, other agents and, perhaps most importantly of all, 
a number of private citizens who were involved with illegal 
immigration--combating illegal immigration--that is, in their 
communities and in their businesses.
  And through the work of this task force, which began last Monday 
evening, on the eve of our historic action in the Committee on the 
Judiciary, passing this important legislation to be considered 
hopefully very soon by this very body, was a process of really coming 
to grips with and letting those of us in the Congress responsible for 
drafting the laws with regard to both legal and illegal immigration, a 
comprehensive look at how illegal immigration has affected and 
continues to adversely affect our communities in terms of the number of 
illegal aliens involved in criminal activity, in terms of the financial 
burdens placed on our communities, not just in the Seventh District of 
Georgia but indeed in many respects all across this country, the drain 
on the medical services, the drain on our welfare system and, indeed, 
other problems that are too lengthy to go into here this evening.
  I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Representative 
Sauder for his foresightedness in recognizing this problem, in 
recognizing that its solution goes far beyond the bounds of any one 
jurisdiction. It affects our homes, our schools, our businesses, our 
hospitals, our religious institutions, our local government, our State 
government and, indeed, all taxpayers of this country.
  Through the work of Representative Sauder's task force, we hope over 
the next several months, Mr. Speaker, to really delve into the problem 
of illegal immigration and how it affects our communities. This work 
will be especially important to me as a Representative from the Seventh 
District to assist me in crafting the very best legislation possible, 
to identify those areas where additional work needs to be done, to 
helping direct precious taxpayer resources to combat the problem of 
illegal immigration in America. And I salute Representative Sauder for 
his work and look forward to working closely with him as an important 
part of the overall legislative effort of this Congress and future 
Congresses to come to grips with the crippling problem of illegal 
immigration in our country.

                          ____________________