Cornyn: We Need To Start The Conference Committee Now To Find Agreement On Border Security, Immigration Reform
Though we will be coming to the negotiations with starkly different views on how best to address our immigration system, the bottom line is that we must meet before any reforms can take place, Cornyn says
Monday, June 05, 2006
WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship subcommittee, made the following statement Monday regarding the need to ‘get started now’ on a conference committee for the immigration bill. Cornyn will be a member of that panel that will work out the differences between the Senate and House bills:
“We need to get started now if the House and Senate are going to reach agreement on a border security and comprehensive immigration reform bill. Though we will be coming to the negotiations with starkly different views on how best to address our immigration system, the bottom line is that we must meet before any reforms can take place. So I encourage the leadership in both chambers to quickly name conferees, and for the conferees to agree to begin the negotiations this month.
“Doing nothing is just not an option. Any delay will not only halt reforms of our immigration system, it will also slow our efforts to secure our nation’s porous borders. And I fear that if we don't get a bill out of conference that addresses border security soon, we won’t have another opportunity to address this critical need for some time.
“There is at least one issue with broad, bipartisan agreement between both the House and Senate: both chambers have recognized the immediate need to gain control of and secure our nation's borders. But securing our borders and reforming our immigration law is an urgent priority, but we can only do that by starting the negotiations soon.”
Sens. Cornyn and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) are the authors of The Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act (S.1438).
“We need to get started now if the House and Senate are going to reach agreement on a border security and comprehensive immigration reform bill. Though we will be coming to the negotiations with starkly different views on how best to address our immigration system, the bottom line is that we must meet before any reforms can take place. So I encourage the leadership in both chambers to quickly name conferees, and for the conferees to agree to begin the negotiations this month.
“Doing nothing is just not an option. Any delay will not only halt reforms of our immigration system, it will also slow our efforts to secure our nation’s porous borders. And I fear that if we don't get a bill out of conference that addresses border security soon, we won’t have another opportunity to address this critical need for some time.
“There is at least one issue with broad, bipartisan agreement between both the House and Senate: both chambers have recognized the immediate need to gain control of and secure our nation's borders. But securing our borders and reforming our immigration law is an urgent priority, but we can only do that by starting the negotiations soon.”
Sens. Cornyn and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) are the authors of The Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act (S.1438).
