[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 151 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5590-S5591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             The DREAM Act

  Madam President, I want to make sure that when we come to the floor 
to discuss immigration, as we should, that we take up the issue of the 
DREAM Act.
  The DREAM Act was a bill that I introduced in the Senate 18 years 
ago. It states, if you were brought to the United States as a child and 
are undocumented in this country but you have gone through school and 
have had no criminal record of any serious consequence, you deserve a 
chance to be able to earn your way to legal status and citizenship. I 
introduced this bill 18 years ago. It passed in the Senate in 1 year 
and passed in the House in another, but it has never come up with the 
60 votes--the supermajority requirement--in the Senate.
  President Obama was a cosponsor when he was in the Senate, and when 
he had the White House under his control, I asked him to consider an 
Executive order to achieve the same goal, and he did. He created a 
program called DACA. There were 790,000 young people across America who 
paid the filing fee, who went through the criminal background checks, 
and who then received the protection to stay in this country and work 
legally.
  Of course, in September of 2017, President Trump abolished this 
program. It took away the protection these young people had. He was 
challenged in court, and the court said we are going to continue this 
program until it is resolved at the highest levels of our Federal 
judiciary as to whether President Trump has this authority.
  On November 12, across the street, the U.S. Supreme Court will 
consider that case--790,000 lives and more, for that matter, hang in 
the balance of how the Justices will make this decision on their 
future.
  This should be debated on the floor of the Senate. It is why we are 
here. It is why we were elected. I think we can find bipartisan answers 
to many of these questions, but we need the Senate majority leader, the 
Republican leader, to really accept the reality of the Senate actually 
going to work. Instead of speeches by individual Senators on the floor, 
as impressive as they may be, we might actually pass a law. Think of 
that--a bill coming to the floor, subject to amendment, and actual 
debate in the Senate Chamber. We would fill the Galleries. It is such a 
novelty. It doesn't happen anymore.

[[Page S5591]]

  Unfortunately for America, many issues, whether it is gun safety or 
sensible immigration policy, are the victims of our inaction in the 
U.S. Senate. We can do better, and we should. Ultimately, the American 
people have the last word as to whether this Senate will act on issues 
like gun safety and immigration. The last word is your vote. In the 
next election, I hope more and more Americans will vote for a Senate 
that responds to the challenges of our day and doesn't avoid our 
responsibility under the Constitution.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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