[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, while the distinguished Senate leader is 
still on the floor, I thank him for his comments on the immigration 
bill. I would note he was kind to talk about hundreds of hours. I may 
not have spent that, but a whole lot of other Senators did--and that 
bill would not have been on the floor and would not have been voted on 
without the leadership of the Senator from Nevada. He made sure there 
was a calendar, that there was time, and that he would keep the Senate 
in session while we had rollcall after rollcall. We had 136 amendments 
that were adopted in committee, and more than a dozen were considered 
on the floor. But we passed that bill by a 2-to-1 margin. The 
Republicans and Democrats joined together, and I applaud the leader for 
what he did.
  I would tell one short story. Not long after that I was in Oregon, 
north of Portland, and went to a farming area. I went to church on a 
Sunday. My brother-in-law was saying the mass. He is fluent in Spanish. 
There were hundreds and hundreds of workers--these are all taxpayers, 
hardworking people. They make the community and they make the economy 
of the area.
  I was introduced at the end. They all stood, raised their hand, and 
asked blessings on me and on the Senate for what we had done because it 
gave them hope for themselves and their families.
  As long as I live, I will remember that, and I would hope--knowing at 
that time that we had enough votes, or enough votes to pass it in the 
House, I would call on the House leadership to do the right thing, 
allow it to come to a vote. Let Republicans and Democrats, everybody 
who does speeches on immigration, let them do what Senator Reid had us 
do in the Senate, actually vote yes or vote no. Let them do the same--
vote yes or vote no, and let the blessing the people gave for us in the 
Senate also be a blessing for those in the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, through the Chair to the distinguished 
President pro tempore of the Senate, for me in Nevada it is very 
important in the State of Nevada because the State of Nevada is 10 or 
15 years behind the State of California as far as demographic changes. 
We have the largest number of Hispanics and Asians in the State of 
Nevada now. But my friend, the senior Senator from Vermont, basically 
has very few minorities in the State of Vermont. He did this--led this 
bill--because it is the right thing to do.
  The people of Vermont, I know, are very cognizant of their senior 
Senator. He has taken on issues during his time in the Senate not 
because necessarily they are important for the State of Vermont--which 
they are, because anything that is good for the country is good for 
Vermont--but he takes these issues on because it is certainly the right 
thing for the country. There is a long list of things he has done over 
the years that have very little bearing on the State of Vermont but 
have a tremendous bearing on this country. That is why he is the 
tremendous leader he is.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the distinguished majority leader.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________