[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  (Mr. KENNEDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in opposition to the 
House Republican plan to tear apart millions of families through 
extreme amendments to the Department of Homeland Security 
appropriations bill.
  In the face of inaction by this House last year, our President was 
forced to use his constitutional authority to bring millions of our 
neighbors out of the shadows to fix a broken immigration system.
  Through scrapping the Secure Communities Program and ensuring that 
parents of American citizens could no longer live in fear of 
deportation, the President's executive order has moved our country 
forward. However, it is no substitute for the bipartisan congressional 
action that the majority of the American people feel that we need and 
that passed the Senate 2 years ago.
  By undermining the President's executive actions through amendments 
to DHS appropriations, my colleagues are not only jeopardizing critical 
funding for our Nation's security but also ignoring the pain and 
suffering they will cause to millions across our country.

                          ____________________