[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3803-3804]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IRISH E3 VISA BILL

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, yesterday afternoon I had the honor of 
attending the annual Speaker's Luncheon celebrating the long and 
enduring partnership between the Irish and American people. Among the 
guests of honor were the President and Vice President and Irish Prime 
Minister Enda Kenny. And this past Saturday, St. Patrick's Day, I 
joined Prime Minister Kenny, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago 
Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to march in Chicago's annual St. Patrick's Day 
parade. As one of the 40 million Americans of Irish descent, the chance 
to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Prime Minister of Ireland twice 
in 4 days is a rare joy.
  At the parade on Saturday, Prime Minister Kenny hailed Chicago as 
``the most American of American cities.'' It is also the most Irish of 
American cities, home to the largest population of Irish-Americans in 
the United States. On St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, the river and the 
beer both run green and it seems that everyone is Irish either by 
heritage or simply by osmosis.
  There is good reason that Americans of all backgrounds embrace St. 
Patrick's Day with such enthusiasm. From our earliest days as a nation, 
America and Ireland have been united by unbreakable bonds of friendship 
and family and by a shared commitment to liberty and freedom.
  In fact, there might not be a United States of America were it not 
for the Irish. That is not just my opinion. That was the assessment of 
General George Washington and of Britain's Lord Mountjoy, who, in a 
speech to Parliament declared plainly, ``We have lost America through 
the Irish.''
  The largest ethnic group to sign the Declaration of Independence were 
those with Irish roots, Charles Dunlop of County Tyrone printed the 
first copies, and the first man to read it before Congress was Charles 
Thomson of Derry, Secretary of the Continental Congress. When the 
Continental Congress was in desperate need of finances, supporters in 
Dublin, Cork, and other Irish cities took up collections to help the 
struggling new nation. Irish-born generals ranked among Washington's 
most trusted officers and Irish soldiers formed the backbone of 
Washington's army. At Valley Forge, it is estimated that almost half 
the army was Irish.
  In the more than 2 centuries since then, America has been enriched 
immeasurably by the contributions of the Irish and Irish-Americans in 
every field and every walk of life.
  Twenty American Presidents--nearly half--can trace their lineage to 
Ireland, from George Washington to Barack Obama of the Kearneys of 
Moneygall. And the contributions go both ways. Just as the sons of Erin 
helped make George Washington America's first President, it was a son 
of America, Brooklyn-born Eamonn deValera, who, in 1921, became the 
first president of a free Ireland.
  In December, Senators Schumer, Leahy and I introduced an amendment 
that recognizes the special relationship between the United States and 
Ireland. Our Irish E3 visa amendment would allow a small number of 
Irish citizens--10,500 a year--to work in America for 2 years, pay 
taxes and contribute to Social Security.
  Our proposal is an amendment to the Fairness for High-Skilled 
Immigrants Act, which passed the House last November with overwhelming 
bipartisan support. Shortly after we introduced our amendment, my 
colleague from Illinois, Senator Kirk, and Senator Brown of 
Massachusetts introduced a similar measure.
  Our proposal is a common-sense measure that would improve the 
fairness and efficiency of our immigration

[[Page 3804]]

system and further strengthen America's special relationship with 
Ireland, a nation to which we owe so much.
  Our proposal has the support of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the 
Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, Chicago Celts for Immigration 
Reform headed by my friend Billy Lawless of Chicago, and many other 
organizations.
  All 53 Democratic Senators--a solid majority of this Senate--have 
also pledged their support for our proposal. Despite this broad support 
inside and outside of Congress, at this time there is an objection on 
the Republican side to passing our bill.
  We want to work with our Republican colleagues to break this impasse 
and create the Irish E3 visas this year. As Prime Minister Kenny has 
said, Ireland's economy will recover from its current difficulties. But 
with Irish emigration higher than it has been in decades, it is in the 
interests of both Ireland and America that we act now, without delay, 
to create a fair and legal way for Irish citizens to work temporarily 
in America.
  Twenty-nine years ago, Speaker Tip O'Neill hosted the first St. 
Patrick's Day luncheon in Congress. His special guest at that first 
Speaker's St. Patrick's Day Luncheon was another Irish American leader 
who said, when he visited Ireland, ``Today I come back to you as a 
descendant of people who were buried here in pauper's graves.''
  That special guest was President Ronald Reagan and that first 
Speaker's Luncheon was arranged to try to ease tensions between the two 
leaders, who embodied very different political traditions, but who 
shared a love of Ireland and of their Irish heritage.
  The plan worked. While Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill never did see 
eye-to-eye on politics, they formed a respectful relationship that 
enabled them to work together in America's interest. So I ask our 
Republican friends: Let us walk in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and 
Tip O'Neill and work together to pass the Irish E3 visa bill this year.

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