[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRESS SHOULD PASS THE DREAM ACT

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the over 20,000 DREAMers 
in my district on the central coast of California.
  Due to the administration's pledge to end DACA, those young men and 
women, who have done everything right after they got to America, are 
now being punished for a choice that they did not make before coming to 
America.
  Their mothers and fathers came to the central coast to work hard and 
contribute to the economies and communities in the salad bowl of the 
world and the most scenic place in the world so that their children 
could have the opportunity to live the American Dream in the best 
country in the world.
  Now, it is clear that DACA doesn't just give them that dream. All 
that DACA does is give those children the opportunity to come out of 
the shadows and fulfill that dream. That is why DREAMers work in our 
businesses, study in our schools, and serve in the military of the only 
country that they know.
  This is why Congress should vote on and pass the Dream Act. If we do 
our job, we will allow DREAMers to not only do their jobs, we will give 
them the opportunity to give back to the communities and country that 
gave them and their parents so much.
  As immigrants, they understand that obligation. Let's show them and 
let's show this country that Congress understands that obligation as 
well.

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