[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6622-S6625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. President, this so-called compromise doesn't do nearly enough to 
end the war, and I intend to vote against it. I support our troops. 
They have fought bravely and with great courage under extraordinarily 
difficult circumstances. But it is wrong for the President to send our 
troops to war without a plan to win the peace, and it is wrong for 
Congress to keep them in harm's way on the current failed course.
  The best way to protect our troops is to bring this war to an end, 
not to pour more American lives into this endless black hole our Iraq 
policy has become. It is wrong for Congress to continue to defer to a 
Presidential decision that we know is fatally flawed.
  The American people know this war is wrong. It is wrong to abdicate 
our responsibilities by allowing this war to drag on and on and on 
while our casualties mount higher and higher. The President was wrong 
to get us into this war, wrong to conduct it so poorly, wrong to ignore 
the views of the American people, and wrong to stubbornly refuse to 
sign legislation requiring a timetable for the orderly and responsible 
withdrawal of our combat troops from Iraq.
  It is time to end this continuing tragic loss of American lives and 
begin to bring our soldiers home.
  For the sake of our troops, we cannot repeat the mistakes of Vietnam 
and allow this war to drag on long after the American people know it is 
a profound mistake.
  Mr. President, how much time do I have?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 3 minutes 20 seconds.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, before yielding so we can have a vote on 
the amendment of the Senator from Vermont, I would like to respond to 
my friend from Alabama regarding the earned-income tax credit.
  The earned-income tax credit is to help children--help children. Of 
all the industrialized nations of the world, we have more children 
living in poverty than any other Nation in the world. The earned-income 
tax credit is to help the children. They are not the lawbreakers; the 
parents are the lawbreakers. Yet this amendment will take it out on the 
children.
  We don't do it for those who have committed murder and gone to 
prison. We don't do it for those who have committed aggravated assault. 
We don't do it for those who commit burglary, but we are going to do it 
for those who have been adjusted in terms of their status of being 
illegal. That is what the

[[Page S6623]]

Sessions amendment does. We don't do it for murderers, we don't do it 
for burglars, we don't do it for those who have committed the most 
egregious crimes, but we are going to do it in terms of those whose 
positions we are changing and altering in terms of their adjustment of 
status.
  The people who are affected by it are the children. It doesn't seem 
to be the way we ought to go. But we will have a longer period of time 
to debate this at another time.


                           Amendment No. 1223

  I believe now we are prepared to vote, and I suggest that we get to 
it as quickly as we can so that we don't have other interference.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I will be very brief. I thank Senator 
Durbin and Senator Kennedy for their support. This amendment has been 
modified. The H-1B program would increase from $1,500 to $5,000, a 
$3,500 increase. The new revenue, as I mentioned earlier, would be used 
to establish a scholarship program so we can begin to see young 
Americans get the education they need for these professions so that we 
do not have to go abroad to bring people in to do the jobs that 
American workers should be doing.
  I would appreciate support for this amendment.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I ask unanimous consent for 1 more minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I want to commend the Senator from Vermont for this 
amendment. I intend to support it. Years ago I thought we ought to have 
it at $3,000. It went down to $1,000, and it has come back up to 
$1,500. The Senator has brought this up to a much more reasonable 
amount. I think he has made a very strong case for it. These funds will 
be used to make sure we get Americans being able to do those jobs. That 
is what the purpose is: to see we have Americans able to do those jobs, 
those H-1B jobs. It makes a great deal of sense. I commend the Senator.
  There is one provision in here on the public hospitals, and I know he 
will work with us to try to address that in the conference, and I thank 
him for it. I hope the Senate will support his amendment.
  I think we are prepared to vote on this amendment. I ask for the yeas 
and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, just a word or two. I think it is a good 
amendment. I commend the Senator from Vermont. I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. 
Johnson) and the Senator from New York (Mr. Schumer) are necessarily 
absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch), the 
Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. 
Thomas).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator form Utah (Mr. Hatch) 
would have voted: ``nay.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 59, nays 35, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 179 Leg.]

                                YEAS--59

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Tester
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--35

     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bond
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Coleman
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Lott
     McConnell
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Smith
     Sununu
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Brownback
     Hatch
     Johnson
     McCain
     Schumer
     Thomas
  The amendment (No. 1223), as modified, was agreed to.
  Mr. DURBIN. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEAHY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we are anticipating a vote in the next 2 
or 3 minutes. We will inform the Members about that decision. We are 
checking with the leadership at the present time.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the Senator from Connecticut wishes to 
propound a unanimous consent request, and then I will propound a 
unanimous consent request that we will have 2 minutes evenly divided 
between the Senator from Louisiana and myself, and then I expect we 
will have a rollcall vote up or down on the Vitter amendment.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside 
the pending amendment so I might call up an amendment and then set it 
aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                Amendment No. 1191 to Amendment No. 1150

(Purpose: To provide safeguards against faulty asylum procedures and to 
                     improve conditions of dention)

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1191.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Lieberman] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 1191 to amendment No. 1150.

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I have come to the floor to speak about 
my amendment to improve our Nation's treatment of asylum seekers.
  This amendment would implement the key recommendations of the 
congressionally established U.S. Commission on International Religious 
Freedom, which 2 years ago issued a report raising serious concerns 
about the protections offered asylum seekers arriving in this country.
  I think it is worth noting that the Commission that issued this 
report was established by Congress in 1998 as a result of legislation 
first introduced by Senator Specter, in concert with the efforts of 
Senators Nickles, Brownback, myself, and several others. Senator 
Specter should be proud of that work and accomplishment. I hope we can 
see this amendment as one of the fruits of that labor.
  The Commission reported an unacceptable risk that genuine asylum 
seekers were being turned away because their fears--and the real 
dangers--of being returned to their home countries were not fully 
considered.
  The Commission also found that while asylum seekers are having their 
applications considered, they are often detained for months in maximum 
security prisons and jails, without ever having been fairly considered 
for release on bond. The Commission described conditions of detention 
that are completely unacceptable for a just nation to impose on people 
who are trying to escape war, oppression, religious persecution, even 
torture.

[[Page S6624]]

  Since the Commission's report was issued, I have routinely asked 
officials from the Department of Homeland Security what is being done 
about the problems the Commission identified. I have been assured that 
the Department was reviewing the report's findings. The time for review 
is over. The time for Congress to act is now.
  My amendment will implement the Commission's most important 
recommendations. It calls for sensible reforms that will safeguard the 
Nation's security, improve the efficiency of our immigration detention 
system, and ensure that people fleeing persecution are treated in 
accordance with this Nation's most basic values.
  My amendment would implement quality assurance procedures to ensure 
that DHS officers carefully and accurately record the statements of 
people who may have a legitimate fear of returning to their countries.
  Asylum seekers not subject to mandatory detention would be entitled 
to a hearing to determine if they could be released. Providing bond 
hearings for those asylum seekers who are low-risk will free up 
detention beds.
  At an average cost of $90 per person per day, often much higher, 
detention beds have always been scarce. Provisions in the Senate 
legislation before us would vastly increase the numbers of aliens being 
held in detention. Our immigration system should prioritize available 
space for aliens who pose a risk of flight, a threat to public safety 
or are subject to mandatory detention.
  The amendment also promotes secure alternatives to detention of the 
type DHS has already begun to implement.
  For those who must remain detained, we are obliged as a compassionate 
society to provide humane conditions at immigration facilities and 
jails used by DHS. My amendment includes modest requirements to ensure 
decent conditions, especially for asylum seekers, families with 
children, and other vulnerable populations. It requires improvements in 
key areas, such as access to medical care and limitations on the use of 
solitary confinement. And it creates a more effective system within DHS 
for overseeing and inspecting facilities.
  The origin of the United States is that of a land of refuge. Many of 
our Nation's founders fled here to escape persecution for their 
political opinions, their ethnicity, and their religion. Since that 
time, the United States has honored its history and founding values by 
standing against persecution around the world, offering refuge to those 
who flee from oppression, and welcoming them as contributors to a 
democratic society.
  I hope this amendment will be viewed as a noncontroversial way the 
Nation can continue to honor that history.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my amendment be set aside 
and that the Senate return to the previous order.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1157

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we have 1 minute each side. This will be 
the final vote on the immigration bill this week. We have had great 
cooperation. We are enormously grateful to all the Members.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, my amendment is very simple, it is very 
straightforward, and it is very important. It strikes title VI from the 
bill, which is the very controversial Z visa provision.
  In my opinion, and the opinion of many people, many Americans, this 
is amnesty purely and simply, and that conclusion is important not 
because of a brand, not because of the word but because of what it 
means and what it will create.
  It will create a magnet to increase illegal activity into the 
country, to encourage more of the same, more of the problem and not 
solve the problem. That is why we must remove this title from the bill.
  The key question in this debate is will this bill fundamentally 
repeat the horrible mistakes of 1986 when we did amnesty but not nearly 
enough enforcement. I believe this bill, as it stands now, repeats that 
horrible mistake.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, legalization is good for national 
security. We need to know the names of everyone living here. That is 
why the Department of Homeland Security supports earned legalization. 
All of title VI was written with the close cooperation of Secretary 
Chertoff and his staff.
  Legalization is good for our economic prosperity. We need every 
worker in this country to join the formal economy and pay their taxes. 
That's why the Department of Commerce supports earned legalization. All 
of title VI was written with the close cooperation of Secretary 
Gutierrez and his staff.
  Legalization is consistent with American family values. Would 
opponents of legalization deport children and divide families?
  More than 1.6 million undocumented children live in the United 
States.
  More than 3.1 million U.S.-citizen children have at least one 
undocumented parent.
  Legalization supports our broader reform effort. We must break 
America's cycle of illegality. Enforcement at the worksite and 
elsewhere will fail if 12 million Americans and 5 percent of U.S. 
workers remain in the shadows.
  The American people support earned legalization. Poll after poll find 
that large majorities of Americans want undocumented immigrants who 
have lived and worked in the United States to have a chance to keep 
their jobs and earn legal status.
  This support spans political parties and crosses demographics.
  Americans understand that this is a complex problem that requires a 
comprehensive solution.
  Mr. President, this is not 1986; 1986 was amnesty. This is not 
amnesty. Let's be very clear about it. Not only do you have to have a 
background check, but you pay fees of $5,500, you have to learn 
English, you have to demonstrate you paid your taxes, you have to work 
for the next 8 years and demonstrate that you have worked in the past 
if you are ever going to get a green card. You have to return home in 
order to get your application for a green card, and you have to go to 
the back of the line. None of that was 1986.
  Legalization is important for our national security. We have to know 
who is in the United States of America. Legalization is important in 
terms of our economic prosperity so our economy can function well, and 
legalization is important for the families. Do we think we are going to 
deport 3.5 million American children who have parents who are 
undocumented? Are we going to send those people overseas?
  This amendment will undermine the legislation. I hope it will be 
rejected by the Senate.
  I ask for the yeas and nays, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 1157. The clerk will 
call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. 
Johnson) and the Senator from New York (Mr. Schumer) are necessarily 
absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch), and the 
Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Thomas).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Florida). Are there any other 
Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 29, nays 66, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 180 Leg.]

                                YEAS--29

     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bond
     Bunning
     Byrd
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Corker
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Dorgan
     Enzi
     Grassley
     Inhofe
     Landrieu
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter

                                NAYS--66

     Akaka
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Kennedy

[[Page S6625]]


     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Obama
     Reed
     Reid
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Brownback
     Hatch
     Johnson
     Schumer
     Thomas
  The amendment (No. 1157) was rejected.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

  

                          ____________________