[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 7 (Thursday, January 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we are inching ever closer to the 
government's spending deadline of January 19, when we will have to 
address a host of unresolved issues. We must lift the spending caps 
equally for defense and other domestic priorities, such as opioids, 
veterans, pensions. We must pass an aid package to give relief to 
disaster stricken areas of our country. We must pass the healthcare 
package that extends CHIP--children's health insurance--and community 
health centers.

  Just this week, the CBO projected that CHIP will actually save the 
government money if it is extended for 10 years. We could ensure that 
kids continue to get quality health insurance for longer and save the 
government money if we extend it for 10 years. That is a no-brainer.
  Of course, we must settle the fate of the Dreamers. A deal to pass 
DACA protection alongside a package of border security measures is 
finally within reach. As the immigration meeting at the White House 
showed, almost everyone in this body is interested in passing DACA 
protections into law.
  Democrats are interested in effective, practical border security 
measures. We want what secures the border the most, not what sounds the 
best, not what was a political slogan in a campaign but what actually 
protects our border as drugs flow in and other things come across. We 
are working as hard as we can to find an agreement both sides can live 
with. The only folks who didn't get the memo were some House 
Republicans who continue to push hard-line immigration bills that are 
outside the scope of the negotiations. I am referring to Representative 
Goodlatte's proposal, which is entirely counterproductive and 
completely unacceptable.
  If Speaker Ryan is going to listen to the hard right in the House and 
coalesce behind Representative Goodlatte's proposal on DACA, we will 
have no deal. Let the American people hear that. If Speaker Ryan is 
unable to resist Representative Goodlatte's proposal--he has never been 
for Dream to begin with--we will have no deal.
  If Speaker Ryan bends to the hard-right faction of his caucus--which 
is far away from what most Americans think; the hard right doesn't like 
Dreamers, and 70 percent of Americans do--and if they ask for 
immigration measures outside the scope of our negotiations, then so 
will we. Deal with chain migration outside of the scope of Dreamers? 
Let's deal with the 11 million who need a path to citizenship--a tough 
but fair path. We can play that game too. We can go beyond the confines 
of this deal, which has been Dreamers and border security, and then the 
whole thing won't happen.
  There are people on my side who aren't going to want to make any 
compromises. I know that. There are people on both sides who won't want 
to make any compromises. As responsible leaders, we have to come to an 
agreement, and we can't make everybody happy. That is why we have a 
House and Senate. That is why we have legislators.
  The whole reason we narrowed the scope of our negotiations is so that 
we could accomplish something for the Dreamers, rather than 
relitigating comprehensive immigration reform in such a compressed 
timeframe.
  This body passed a very fine bill, in my opinion. It was really tough 
on the border. It was tough on benefits. It was tough on a path to 
citizenship. For the first time, for instance, green card holders had 
to learn English. That was in our bill that passed this body--led by 
Senator McCain and myself and the Gang of 8--68 to 32. The House didn't 
dare take it up for the same reason they seem to have trouble today: 
The hard right said no immigration reform. And we are stuck. That hurts 
everybody.
  I am sure my good friend is hearing from farmers in his State, as I 
hear from farmers in mine, and businesspeople. We have to tighten up 
our borders. We have to make sure we have a rational system of 
immigration. We can't assure that every person who wants to come here 
comes here. We all agree with that. But that is comprehensive 
immigration reform, because we also believe that the 11 million here 
should be given a difficult but fair path to citizenship. We can't 
start litigating all of that.
  Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle say: I have to have 
this provision outside DACA and border security. They are hurting the 
cause of getting something done.
  If we can reach an agreement by the end of this week or over the 
weekend, we can pass it into law as part of a global deal on the budget 
by next Friday. I believe that is still the best way to resolve the 
issue. I am hopeful we can get this done. Any later than that, we won't 
have time to do it by the 19th.
  Let me assure my colleagues, accept the majority leader in good faith 
and the Speaker in good faith--their intention is to put a bill on the 
floor in February or March. We have heard that before, and it never 
happens. So we feel passionately that we should get this done--both 
tighten up the border and help the Dreamers. We have to do it as part 
of the must-pass bill, and that must-pass bill is this global spending 
deal.

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