[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15788]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, just about 40 minutes or so 
ago, we were in the midst of a debate concerning STEM, which is 
something that most Americans have come to now understand as the 
acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.
  As a longstanding member on the Subcommittee on Immigration and on 
Homeland Security, STEM is now a basis for expanding visas to ensure or 
to give opportunities to young people who are graduating from our 
research institutions of higher learning who have been born in other 
countries and to give them the ability to be able to stay here in order 
to help create jobs and to build this economy. That's a good thing. Yet 
on November 6, 2012, I think America spoke and said, We're ready to do 
more and go further.
  I voted ``no'' on the rule because I believe we are ready for 
comprehensive immigration reform, not something that will hurt us, but 
something that will help us. For those who appreciated the Statue of 
Liberty that welcomed the poor and the downtrodden, that welcomed the 
Irish and the Germans and the Italians, we know that comprehensive 
immigration reform is the right way. This rule, H. Res. 821, is not the 
right way. So I ask my colleagues to look to comprehensive immigration 
reform, and I will speak about this bill tomorrow.

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