[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 7 (Thursday, January 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1200
  SUPPORTING TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS DESIGNATION FOR EL SALVADORANS

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak against this 
administration's choice to end the temporary protective status 
designation for El Salvador. Because of this disheartening and 
potentially dangerous decision, 200,000 people who have been legally 
living and working in the United States will be forced to go back to a 
country they don't know, a country that still hasn't fully recovered 
from the devastating earthquakes but is in the grips of widespread gang 
violence with one of the world's highest murder rates. These families 
have chosen to stay here.
  In my district, the TPS recipients from El Salvador have become 
ingrained and embedded in our communities. They are longtime loyal 
employees; they have started families; they have started businesses; 
and yes, they pay taxes. If they are removed, our country would lose 
over $100 billion over the next decade, billions would be lost from 
Social Security and Medicare contributions, and employers would 
experience hundreds of millions in turnover costs.
  Congress should right this wrong and pass the American Promise Act so 
that these TPS recipients can continue to work and live in our 
communities and contribute to our country.

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