Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to emphasize that this bill is revenue neutral for the Federal Government and that all costs of the plebiscite will be paid by the Puerto Rican government. The United States is committed to democracy, and this bill gives us the opportunity to respect the democratically arrived-upon decision of the people of Puerto Rico. I join the number of sentiments that have been expressed today, including those from my friend and colleague from Florida, which are that, should Puerto Rico decide to seek independence, as an individual Member of Congress, I will support that. Should they decide to seek status as an associated republic, I will support that, and should they choose to join us as a State, I will support that. This recent health care debate, I think, helped to show the people of Puerto Rico some of the advantages that might be attained were they a State. Their Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, did an excellent job in trying to advocate for the interests of Puerto Rico in this health care debate, but he was but one vote. The people of Puerto Rico, counted and apportioned under a census, should have six Members of Congress, probably Members on both sides of the aisle, advocating for their interests alongside Members of Congress, representing other parts of our country. The current territorial status of Puerto Rico would end under any of the three options. No options would be subject to the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution. As my colleague from New York has mentioned, this is a topic that is discussed constantly around dinner tables in Puerto Rico. As a Member of Congress from Colorado, I respect the voice of the Puerto Rican people and of the Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, who has been elected with this as part of his platform. Given the current hyperpartisan environment under which Congress works, it is very good to see a bill with such strong bipartisan support. It is important to point out that this bill has over 180 cosponsors and that it was voted out of committee with a strong bipartisan majority. In addition, the highest of Puerto Rico's elected officials from both parties, including its Representative to Congress and Governor Luis Fortuno, along with a sizable majority of both chambers of its legislature, also support this bill. The reason is they understand that this bill upholds the most basic democratic tradition on which our country was founded. Today, we can offer millions of people the right to self- determination. For too long, we have denied our fellow citizens this right, and we are now faced with an opportunity to fix this grievous injustice and to give the people of Puerto Rico the ability to self- determine. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to uphold this country's commitment to democracy and to vote for the underlying rule, which is a fair rule, and the legislation. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule. The material previously referred to by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida is as follows: Amendment to H. Res. 1305 Offered by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida Strike all after the resolved clause and insert: That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2499) to provide for a federally sanctioned self- determination process for the people of Puerto Rico. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour and 30 minutes, with one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and 30 minutes controlled by Representative Velazquez of New York or her designee. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill. Each section of the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Mr. POLIS. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, in brief response to the gentleman from Washington, all States, certainly including the residents of Puerto Rico, if they, in fact, become a State, would have the protections of the Second Amendment, as well as all of the other amendments and protections of our Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court. And, of course, it is entirely up to States what they do with regard to recognizing official languages. My own State of Colorado has no official language. I understand there are other States that do. Certainly any State can establish English, Spanish, French, whatever language they want, as an official language or languages. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano). (Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), the author of two of the amendments that were made in order under this rule.

Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland, the distinguished majority leader, Mr. Hoyer.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1305 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. POLIS. For the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I will be joined throughout the course of this evening by some of my colleagues, including the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison) and others who might join us. We want to speak tonight about a topic that's been in the news lately and is incredibly important to the American people, and that's the topic of immigration, securing our borders, immigration reform. A lot of us were, frankly, shocked at some of the steps that Arizona took a couple of weeks ago which has sent a powerful message to us here in Washington that we need to act. It's not up to States to patrol their borders, to protect who is here, and to enforce workplace laws; it is the responsibility of the Federal Government. The Federal Government has failed to enforce our immigration laws. It's time to act now to pass comprehensive immigration reform. I have heard the message from Arizona loud and clear, and I hope that that passage of that bill provides an impetus for us to take the politically challenging but critical steps necessary to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Today was an exciting day for immigration reform. In the Senate, they introduced their conceptual proposal for immigration reform. This was introduced today by a number of Senators. Now, it's not a bill. We have a bill in the House that I proudly joined as a cosponsor of with about 100 Members to fix our broken immigration system. But this is the first step towards a bill in the Senate, which I hope will be introduced soon and will be bipartisan. It starts out 1(a), ``securing the border first before any action can be taken to change the status of people in the United States illegally.'' As long as we have a porous border and we are failing to secure our border, there won't be any meaningful reform in our own country. There will continue to be people who enter our country extralegally. It's absolutely ridiculous that in this day and age, a sovereign Nation, the greatest Nation on Earth, cannot secure our own border. It's also critical that we know who's here. The Senate plan and the House plan that I am a cosponsor of require our undocumented population to register and undergo a background check. That's an important step, because right now we don't even know who is here in our own country. That's a security threat that every American should take seriously, and I think it's critical that we know who's here. Arizona has triggered a national crisis and underlined the critical need for action at the Federal level. This ridiculous measure that Arizona passed--and I should point out that we should expect, if Congress continues to fail to take action, other States to pass some misguided and extreme State laws. But this Arizona law has triggered a moral crisis by forcing American citizens, families who are American citizens, to live in fear. What does this law mean? It means that as American citizens are going about their business, going to school, going to the 7-Eleven, whatever they're doing, and if an officer thinks, thinks, suspects that they might be an illegal immigrant--could it be the clothes they wear? Could it be their race? Could it be an accent they speak with?--that officer can then demand proof, proof of their legal status in the U.S. Now, I ask you, who carries the proof of their American citizenship with them? I know I don't when I go out shopping. I know I don't when I go for a walk. So these Americans will be detained. They could spend days, weeks, even months away from their families as they have to prove their American citizenship and request the documentation to do so. That can frequently take a long time, and I have been to these immigrant detention facilities. We have one in Aurora, Colorado. That is the type of facility that an American citizen will be taken to simply because they are not walking around or going about with the documentation of their American citizenship. This threatens to turn Arizona into a police state. It threatens to strike fear in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, particularly Arizonans of particular ethnic heritages. That's why I feel very strongly this bill is a racist bill, one born of xenophobia, but one that will affect the rights of American citizens. Will it lead to the apprehension of more undocumented immigrants? It might. It will, on the margins. But it will lead to the detention of American citizens accidentally because American citizens, as we go about our own business in our own country, should not have to carry with us proof of our citizenship in this great Nation. Where does this overreach of government end? This new law has triggered a political crisis in Arizona, effectively causing the law enforcement community, which has strongly opposed this bill in Arizona, to face the choice of going after people based on their race or protecting people from crime. The fastest growing segment of our electorate will continue to pay attention to this issue. Latinos want to know that we have an interest in fixing the broken immigration system and making sure that no other States overreach and go after American citizens like Arizona does. And yet we can all understand--me from Colorado, others across the Nation--why Arizona felt it had to fall to them to take action on this issue. It's because the Federal Government has failed to act on comprehensive immigration reform. Immigration is a national issue that requires a national solution. It can't be solved on a State-by-State basis. We need the Federal Government to take bold and decisive action, and we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform now. We stand with the Arizona Association of Police Chiefs, the Yuma County sheriff, Mesa police chief and other law enforcement officials who are opposed to Senate bill 1070 in Arizona because it makes Arizonan communities less safe and threatens American citizens with detention. If people are afraid that their families and neighbors and friends will be rounded up by police, they live in constant fear of a government and a police that are there to serve and protect. The Arizona immigration enforcement law is an example of the chaos that's been created by the Federal Government's failure to protect our borders and act on comprehensive immigration reform. The new Arizona law is an attack on our American values. President Obama's acknowledged that Arizona's law undermines the basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans. This is a challenge of who we are as a Nation, who we are as human beings, and whether we're going to stand up for American ideals or reject those to appeal to our worst instincts and the worst among us. Let's do the right thing and fix our broken immigration system. That is a challenge to us here in Congress, and it shouldn't take courage from Members of Congress to talk about, support, and pass immigration reform. Quite to the contrary, it should take courage to avoid passing immigration reform, because the American people overwhelmingly want immigration reform, and those Members of Congress who stand in the way of securing our borders and ensuring that only people can work legally risk not returning next year and having a different voice that demands the action of the United States Congress. This is one of the few issues that has broad agreement among my constituents in Colorado. I have said this to a number of audiences. When we talked about health care, there were many of my constituents who supported health care reforms and many who opposed it. With regard to immigration, I have not found one constituent on the left or the right that believes that we are doing everything right with regard to immigration. It is broken. Conservatives agree it's broken. Liberals agree it's broken. Nobody believes our immigration system works perfectly. We have an undocumented population of over 10 million people. We have thousands, hundreds of thousands of businesses across this country that violate the law every day. The rule of law across our great Nation has been challenged and undermined. But we in Congress--I hope that we in Congress have heard the cry from Arizona, the cry from the 49 other States, the cry from the American people demanding that we in Congress take action to fix our broken immigration system and may restore the rule of law to this great Nation. I see I am joined by my friend from Minnesota, who I will yield to.

Mr. POLIS. Thank you, Congresswoman Chu, for your leadership on this issue. Those are very powerful words that you shared. The stories that you shared, those individuals are not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of people across our country every day who have powerful stories about what has happened to them through our immigration system. Let me briefly mention something that the Congresswoman alluded to about detention. It could be an American citizen or somebody who is undocumented and taken to detention, that means that taxpayers are paying their way. Taxpayers are paying $120 a day on average in these detention facilities. So if this Arizona law leads to more undocumented people being apprehended, then we are putting them up for free at a government hotel. So rather than working and not being a burden on American society, Arizona's new law forces taxpayers to put up illegal immigrants, feed and clothe and house them at taxpayer expense. I bet if the people of Arizona knew that, they would have second thoughts about this law. But that is exactly what will happen. Not only that, there will be American citizens who are swept up in this. You go out for coffee, run your errands, don't bring your proof of citizenship with you, boom, you're in a detention facility. American taxpayers are paying $120 a night for you, and it might take a week, a month, however long it takes until you can get your documentation. God forbid you are visiting from Alaska, visiting from Florida, were born to a midwife and don't have a hospital birth certificate, you could be in that detention facility even though you are an American citizen for months, all at taxpayer expense. I think the solution that the American people want is a lot better than that. I don't think that the American people want to put up illegal immigrants in hotels for months or years at a time. I think the American people want to make sure that we don't have an undocumented population in this country. That is exactly what the House conference of immigration reform bill would do, as well as the Senate proposal that was outlined. The Senate bill would require that anybody who is here has to register and have a background check and they would get a prospective immigrant status, a transitory, temporary status to be here. And eventually if they learned English, went through all of these steps, they could become a permanent resident. But that is quite a long way down the road. And to ever achieve lawful permanent residence, they would have to speak English, have basic citizenship skills, updated terrorism, criminal history and background checks, pay all Federal income taxes, fees and civil penalties and register for selective service after 8 years on the temporary status. No, the American people don't want to put illegal immigrants up in hotels like the Arizona legislature are proposing. The American people don't want to have a large undocumented population. I would also like to point out the problems that this law has interposed on one of our Nation's most important strategic relationships, and that is our relationship with our neighbors to the south, Mexico. I am the founder here in the Congress of the U.S.-Mexico Friendship Caucus to facilitate one of our most important trading partners. The flow of ideas and goods between the U.S. and Mexico is an important part of the prosperity we have here, and the growing economy in helping Mexico meet the demands of its growing middle class. And yet this law is hurting our bilateral relationship with Mexico. You know, before I got to Congress, I occasionally used to travel internationally. I had been to places like Tunisia and Egypt and Australia. And on our Department of State, there is a site where they list any country with a warning. Don't go to this country because it has a civil war or it has terrorists. My mother wouldn't have liked it very much if our own Department of State said you might die if you go there. Well, you know what, Mexico is now advising their citizens, their tourists, not to go to Arizona. Yes, one of our very own States is being warned against visiting by a country that sends many tourists to our Nation. I represent some of the ski resorts, Vail, Beaver Creek and Copper Mountain in Colorado. We have tens of thousands from Mexico every year. It is one of our larger countries that sends tourists that keep Americans employed and spend money in Colorado. But by criminalizing a whole status of people, any Mexican tourist would have second thoughts about going to Arizona. And it saddens me as an American, having looked at these warnings that our Department of State has and always seeing Third World developing countries, saying glad I don't live where that civil war or dictator is, well, now one of our closest and most important friends and neighbors, the great country of Mexico, has listed one of our States on their warnings. That's a blow to the American pride. I am proud to be an American, and to think that our country has some of these problems that only developing countries or dictatorships or police states have had in the past is not only disgraceful, but it will undermine the economy of Arizona. Tourism will dry up. And it won't be just Mexico and Arizona. I have a feeling that many other countries will follow suit from East Asia and Latin America because who wants their citizens to be apprehended and placed in detention for months at a time. And that would be a very reasonable response. I hope that this law in Arizona is tossed out as soon as possible. Again, it is important for us to understand why Arizona passed it. It was a message, a message to us in Congress that Congress has failed the American people. Congress has failed to enforce our borders and implement real employment enforcement, real security. Indeed, Congress' lack of action is leading to the undermining of American sovereignty not only in Arizona, but in many States, including my home State of Colorado, that has hundreds of thousands of people who live extra- legally--we don't know who they are, we don't know where they are-- work, in most cases, extra-legally because Federal enforcement has been a joke. This is a solution that we can solve. It's not a solution that should involve posturing from the left or the right. It's one that the American people and the people of Arizona, very rightfully so, have demanded action on with a shot across our bow. I hope the people of Arizona don't suffer too much under this law because I understand and sympathize with their goals. I hope it's overturned soon. Certainly, if it's allowed to continue, it will hurt their economy, they will lose jobs, Arizonans will lose work, and Americans will be forced into detention at taxpayer expense. I hope that that doesn't happen. I hope this law is overturned before that happens. But the shot across the bow has been received, and I hope that it provides the urgent impetus for those of us here in Congress to move forward now on comprehensive immigration reform. I yield to my friend from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. POLIS. The people of this country are tired of this problem being used for political purposes from the left and the right. The American people just want to see this issue solved. The American people are smart; they recognize that the longer we delay taking action the bigger the problem gets. Our immigration laws should reflect our interests as Americans and our values as Americans; but we need to treat this as something to solve, not an opportunity for politicians to score points on the left or points on the right by preying on our legitimate or illegitimate concerns or prejudices. Yes, we truly are a Nation of laws, but we are also a Nation of immigrants. We need to make sure that immigrants obey our laws, learn English, and pay their taxes; and then we welcome them as our American brothers and sisters. It's amazing to see some of the nonconventional alliances, some of the groups that have been pushing for immigration reform. Among the strongest has been the faith-based community. Now, while I have many people who have supported me in the past who are of the Catholic faith, the archbishop, Archbishop Chaput in Denver, is somebody who I don't agree with on a lot of social issues; he and I disagree on many issues, such as a woman's right to choose, but on this issue, he and I joined together in an event in Denver in support of immigration reform that 1,500 people, on a Sunday after mass, packed into a church in strong, universal support for comprehensive immigration reform across the faith-based community. From the evangelicals to the Catholics to the Jews to the Muslims to the humanists and the atheists, there is strong support for comprehensive immigration reform. There is also support--and this is very unusual in the context of politics--from both the organized labor community and unions and businesses in the chamber of commerce. Among the strongest advocates for immigration reform have been high-tech businesses, chambers of commerce, arm and arm with their workers, their unions. It's very rare to see that happen here in Congress. And yet, why hasn't Congress achieved anything? It seems like politicians on both sides of the aisle have preferred to keep this issue out there. Is it to rally their base? Is it to talk about the undocumented, about why they need more time to do something? And yet both sides have refused to take action. And it will take both sides working together to solve this issue with an American solution. Obey our laws, learn English, pay taxes, and welcome to America--that has always been our message. And it needs to continue to be the underlying values with which we construct an immigration system that works, restores the rule of law to our Nation, and is an opportunity for us in Congress to rise to the challenge that the people of Arizona have put before us, that frustrated voters in cities and States across the country have put to us. And if Congress doesn't act to pass comprehensive immigration reform and solve this issue, I believe that the American people will elect a Congress that will. I will yield to my friend from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, how much time remains?

Mr. POLIS. Thank you. I am glad that my friend from Minnesota brought up the important issue of detention. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE had 380,000 people in 2009 who were detained at taxpayer expense. One of the things we fear with the Arizona law is that these could actually be American citizens out working one day. Oh, you don't have your papers. You're in detention. It could take a week. It could take a month. There are many Americans who might have difficulty furnishing those records. Again, I point in particular to those who were born of a midwife or who are very elderly or whose birth hospitals have been subject to fires or to disasters, where records are unable to be located or where they've been lost or where it simply has been human error. Each of these 380,000 people who were detained last year were detained at taxpayer expense. Now, I would argue that that is not good for them and that it's not good for us, the taxpayers. First of all, as my colleague from Minnesota mentioned, 107 died, in many cases, due to medical treatment being withheld, due to abuses. In the incarceration system, in many cases, they are put in with actual criminals who have been convicted of crimes. Again, these are people who are not serving criminal sentences. They are being detained while awaiting decisions on their immigration proceedings. They might either then be released into our country or expelled through a different country, but despite that, they are held in prisons and jails, and they're often mixed with the general prison population, putting them at risk for their lives and limbs, all at taxpayer expense. To the extent that it allows for the apprehension of more people, the Arizona law will simply result in the greater taxpayer expense of putting people up at the tune of $120 a day. You know, that's what it costs. When I looked at it, I said, Gosh. We can put them up at Motel 6 for a quarter of that cost. Yet we continue, the taxpayers across our country, because of our complete failure to protect our borders and to have real immigration policy that works for our Nation. Over 300,000 people were incarcerated at taxpayer expense last year. Comprehensive immigration reform is an American solution. It's common sense. It's fair. It's balanced. It has overwhelming support from the American people. Eighty-one percent agree that comprehensive reform is a balanced approach and that it's fair to taxpayers. Voters across the board, from liberal to conservative, believe it is unrealistic to simply try to deport our way out of this problem. Seven in 10 voters agree that, in addition to increased enforcement and securing the border, illegal immigrants should be required to register and to meet conditions for permanent status. A comprehensive approach to immigration reform secures our borders, cracks down on employers who hire illegally, makes sure that we have real verification of who is able to work, and requires that illegal immigrants pay taxes and learn English to be eligible for permanent status. Voters should know that comprehensive immigration reform is an orderly process and that it will turn what has been completely uncontrolled and chaotic into a controlled flow of immigrants that continue to build our Nation and to reestablish the rule of law across our great Nation. Americans are tired of the posturing on the left and the right. They are tired of the lack of solutions coming from Washington. They don't want to hear us complain about this, complain about that, hyperbole on this, hyperbole on that. What the people of Arizona have very clearly said they want and what the people of our country have very clearly said they want is for us here in Congress, the only place that this problem can be fixed, to fix this problem. Border security is a joke. Enforcement of our laws at the workplace is a joke. We have over 10 million people violating the law in our country every day. The rule of law--our sovereignty--has been undermined. Taxpayers are putting up hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals a year at the cost of over $100 a day. Why not put them up at cheap hotels and save three-quarters of that? I don't know, but this is what we're doing. Does this make sense to anybody, Madam Speaker? The answer is no. I have brought this up at almost all of my town hall meetings in Colorado, and I have yet to find a single constituent--and I have a lot of diversity among my constituents. They range from the Tea Party patriots on the right to the socialists on the left and everything in between. Not one of them is happy with the immigration system in this country. Not one of them is happy that we are putting up 300,000 people a year at the cost of $120 a day. Not one of them is happy that we have an undocumented population of 10 million working illegally in this country. Not one of them is happy. Yet, to this point, Congress has failed to hear and to act upon that. I believe that we will continue to fail at our own peril and that it is incumbent upon this Congress, with the fiercest urgency that the American people have placed on this issue before us, to solve this issue. We are a Nation of laws, and we are also a Nation of immigrants. That's why we need to make sure that our laws, our immigration laws, reflect our interests as Americans in order to create jobs for Americans, to provide safety and security for Americans and to help American businesses grow and succeed, which is why immigration reform is supported by chambers of commerce, by business interests as well as by unions, by faith-based communities, and by law enforcement. We here in Congress should not be afraid of talking about solving the immigration issue. We should be afraid of not talking about solving the immigration issue. Every day that goes by without bills being moved forward or with bills being dropped or without solutions being discussed is a day that the American people will hold their Members of Congress accountable for not doing anything to solve this pressing national issue. I yield to my friend from Minnesota.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an important issue facing our country, and that's the issue of immigration. The lack of Federal action and the failure of the Federal Government to establish the rule of law has completely and utterly failed so severely that States are trying to take Federal law into their own hands. On the right you have States like Arizona, which has passed a law that allows for racial and ethnic profiling. On the left you have States contending with whether they issue driver's licenses or in-state tuition to our growing undocumented population. This is a Federal failure. It is our failure. Congress needs to act now. We should not have 10 million, 15 million, 20 million undocumented immigrants in our country. It strains law enforcement, undermines wages for our working families, and is a very real security threat. I am a proud cosponsor of comprehensive immigration reform in the House. Bipartisan efforts are also underway in the Senate. I urge my colleagues to join me in demanding comprehensive immigration reform now.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow, and further, that when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, for morning-hour debate.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the consequences of our failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. On Tuesday, lawmakers in Arizona passed new immigration enforcement legislation that allows local law enforcement officials to single out undocumented immigrants based solely upon a ``reasonable belief'' that they are undocumented and imprison them for up to 6 months. This bill will significantly undermine the efforts of many law enforcement agencies towards curbing racial profiling by police throughout the country and will increase crime by taking cops off their beats fighting crime and instead using them to enforce Federal immigration laws. Arizona would force untrained State police officers to take the role of Federal immigration agents and somehow make the determination of whether the person is documented or not based upon their subjective belief or observations. It effectively mandates local police to engage in racial profiling and discrimination. This law would mandate the arrest of a person who can't present documentation of legal status. We can imagine all sorts of abuses and unnecessary harassment that will result from such an ill-conceived law. When one goes to the grocery store or takes one's kids to school, do we take a passport with us? I know I don't. The true culprit here, sadly, is the United States Congress, not Arizona. Because we have refused to take action, States are being pressured on all sides to act. States have haphazardly passed a patchwork of laws in an attempt to deal with the pressing issue of immigration. These local laws have unintended consequences which often lead to disastrous results, as we will surely see in Arizona. The Arizona law is a symptom of our broken immigration system, and only Congress can truly solve the crisis. Immigration is fundamentally a Federal issue, and yet we here in Congress continue to fail in meeting our responsibility that's allocated to this body and the Federal Government. Until we can pass comprehensive immigration reform, these misguided local laws will continue to be passed in vain attempts to address the issue at a local level, and we will continue to suffer from the unintended consequences and abuses that they foster. Yes, Arizona will suffer because of this law. How can we expect to recover from our recession if we chase away our workers, shrink our tax base, and scare honest, hardworking American families? Blanket discrimination and persecution is not the way to solve the immigration or economic crisis. In order to prevent more States from following in Arizona's footsteps, I encourage my colleagues in Congress to act immediately to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Well, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota. And people know, taxes are relative to one's income. I've heard from many people, and of course in this recession people are hurting across the board from the wealthy to the poor. And I think even those who pay the highest rate of tax, many of them would say, you know, I would gladly pay the tax rate we had in the Clinton administration if I had the income that we had through the nineties. What you pay is relative to how much you earn. Currently, the highest marginal rate at 35 percent, with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts will return to 39.6 percent. That's the same rate it was when people were doing very well during the boom years. Taxes are the investment. They're the price that we pay for the freedoms that we enjoy in our country. They're what fund our public projects and, yes, worthy and unworthy. I, as a taxpayer, wasn't happy that my taxes were going to fund the Iraq war, and continue to. But that's what our representative system is all about. And I know there's many Americans out there today who weren't happy that their taxes might go to help provide health care for those who can't afford it. But the fact is, it's the price we pay for the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans, and we enjoy more freedoms as Americans than people anywhere else in the world. The noble experiment that was begun by our Founding Fathers over two centuries ago has evolved over the years and become something that every one of them would be proud of having given birth to. We invest in many public projects. You know, in the nature of a democracy, each and every citizen, in fact, each and every Member of Congress is not likely to agree with every item that's spent. I know I don't. I voted ``no'' on some. I know my colleague from Minnesota voted ``no'' on some. Our colleagues and friends on the other side of the aisle voted against some of those. But this is a representative democracy. We here in Congress, each serving and being elected by our constituents, are doing our best to allocate those dollars in a way to provide for the common good, the very concept that is conceptualized so effectively in our founding documents. That's what we do every day. And this being tax time, everybody is reminded of how much they have to pay. And I think it's also important for us to remind them how much they get, the fact that people all over the world would risk dying, going across the desert to try to live in our country, what America stands for, globally, in terms of freedom, of unprecedented levels of prosperity that our middle-class families enjoy. That's what the American Dream is all about. That's what our country is all about. And, no, it's not just the government that establishes this dream. But what it is is it's the rule of law, and it's a government formed among men governing by the consent of the governed to provide for the common good. We won't always get it right. But that's the investment that we're making when we pay taxes. And even though I opposed the Iraq war and didn't like to see my tax dollars go there, even though I continue to oppose the escalation of troops in Afghanistan, and don't want to see my tax dollars going there, I know that the investment I make in paying my taxes is one that I can be proud of as an American. Knowing that it goes through title I to serve schools across our country that serve at-risk youth; knowing that it goes to help make health care more affordable for American families; knowing that it goes to help so that people who are unemployed don't lose their homes, can still put food on the table for their families; to know that our seniors have health care; to know that our young people have health care, and we're making it more accessible for people in the middle; to know that we're funding our roads, our bridges, our infrastructure, our arteries of commerce that empower the private sector to produce the prosperity that has made America unique-- that's what it means to pay taxes. That's why every year, in April, when I pay mine, I feel that same lump in my throat and in my belly as every American; but I know, deep inside, that I would not trade it for anything else. And I am proud that I have this opportunity to be able to contribute to this greatest of the great countries and help America continue to be a beacon unto the nations and a light for future generations. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. A key part of the historic health care reforms that this Congress has now passed is the way that it empowers people to rise from poverty and reduce their reliance on government for providing their health care. Medicaid provides health care as an entitlement to the very poorest Americans. For a family of four, the Federal poverty line is about $22,000. For an individual, it's just under $11,000. So your earnings have to be below that to qualify for Medicaid. Now one thing that our health care reform package does is it increases that dollar amount to 130 percent of poverty, but the other thing it does is it provides a way out of poverty, a way to earn more money without losing your health care. Currently, many people who hover just around the poverty line can't accept a raise, can't take a second job. If they take a raise of 10 cents an hour from $8.50 to $8.60, if they work 50 or 60 hours a week instead of 40, they lose their eligibility. Their income puts them slightly above the poverty line. And what they lose in health care benefits is far more than the money that they earn if they earn an additional $500 or $800, which could make all the difference in their lives. With health care reform, we're replacing that with a sliding scale. No more does all that aid cut off right when you hit poverty or 130 percent of the poverty level. You have an incentive to get out and earn that extra dollar to better yourself, to work that extra hour because the Federal assistance for your health care will decrease on a sliding scale. This will provide an incentive and help lead people off of government health care. It's rather ironic. I've heard people on the other side of the aisle talk about a government takeover of health care. Of course the government isn't taking over any part of health care with this bill. Not only that, we finally will help people get off of government assistance for health care by giving them the incentive to work more and have individual responsibility to pay their own premiums for their own policy with their own money. No more will people lose all of their health care benefits as a perverse incentive not to work that existed prior to this historic law being signed by President Obama. I am confident that over time, this law will lead to less people relying on government for their health care, more individual responsibility. People will have an incentive to get themselves and their families out of a life of poverty, to break the vicious cycle of poverty that has held too many families and too many generations in chains. The government needs to encourage people to better themselves, and with this historic health care, we are doing that by allowing a sliding sale of subsidies all the way up to a couple hundred percent of the poverty level. So as that family earns $25,000, $30,000 a year, is working their way up, climbing on up the ladder of opportunity that this country offers, so too will their aid decline that they are given to afford health care, but it will decline on a sliding scale so that when they earn that extra dollar, they may lose 40, 50, 60 cents of Federal Government assistance. But there is an incentive to earn that extra dollar because, by golly, they get to keep part of it and spend it for themselves and their family. And that can make all the difference in lifting Americans out of poverty and encouraging the American value of individual responsibility for all American families.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today, in celebration of the historic passage of health care reform for our country. I am going to quote from our Declaration of Independence: All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. Yes, it is the purpose of our government that we the people have set up to secure the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The pursuit of life, the right of living, to be able to live and get the right medical care you need shouldn't depend on whether you had cancer as a 25-year-old, shouldn't depend on whether you had a stroke when you were a kid. These are not somebody's fault; it can happen to anybody. And just because of a preexisting condition, you should not be denied coverage. That is what this bill means for America. Our Founding Fathers would be proud today that we stood up for the principle to protect the lives of all Americans by ensuring that all Americans can access affordable, quality health care.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the National Center for Atmospheric Research, or as we back home in Colorado call it, NCAR, on the occasion of their 50th year conducting the climate and weather research that has become an icon of the American spirit of research and a vital part of all of our daily lives. In the 1950s, the Nation's farmers, the rapidly growing airlines, and other sectors of our industrializing economy needed better weather forecasts. Pollution of the atmosphere was becoming a serious problem in urban areas. Cloud-seeding experiments suggested it might some day be possible to modify or impact certain kinds of weather, but the U.S. atmospheric research community wasn't adequately meeting the challenges of information that the new world of opportunity offered to use. In 1956, Detlev Bronk, president of the National Academy of Sciences, appointed a committee of distinguished scientists from several disciplines and instructed them to consider and recommend means by which to increase our understanding and control of the atmosphere. In 1958, the committee came back with several findings and recommendations that led to the establishment of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Solar astronomer Walter Orr Roberts at the University of Colorado was appointed president of UCAR, and the decision was made to call the institute the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which chose a spectacular hilltop in Boulder, Colorado, to call its home in 1960. This iconic building is not only home to the most advanced weather and climate change research in the world; it is also a part of the Boulder Community. Designed by I.M. Pei, this building is a focal point of our community. A breathtaking drive takes you to the facility that hosts an interactive climate and museum. The staff offers tours for the public to see firsthand the tools to fight climate change as well as to predict when you need an umbrella over the weekend. The facility is also a community meeting place, a demonstration of what can happen when the Federal Government partners with local communities, schools, governments, and academia. On behalf of my constituents, I offer gratitude to have this facility and everything it stands for be part of our family in our district. I acknowledge through the research they produce they create great global benefit. In this 50th year, I ask my colleagues to continue support for President Obama's ambitious levels of funding for the National Science Foundation and NCAR. I invite my friends on both sides of the aisle to visit Boulder, Colorado, and this facility, and experience the full context of what the symbiosis of government, academia, and private ingenuity can do. My district, even in this economy, continues to have lower unemployment than surrounding districts. One of the reasons is as a result of the science and Federal research dollars that are spent in our district. My hope is that NCAR will continue to yield Nobel laureates and offer the Nation and the world cutting-edge research with practical applications, and as a result continue to make Boulder the world headquarters for climate and weather research. Congratulations to NCAR and to the scientists and people who work there--my constituents--that carry on this important mission.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to share with my colleague and all Americans interested in the cause of immigration reform; words that were shared with me by one my constituents. To the People and Government of the United States of America: We, the not authorized migrants that are looking for the American Dream, We wrote (this) in Spanish and (it) has been translated to the English Language: Manifest of the Hope We manifest that every man and woman that demonstrates the loyalty through work, education, art and culture; furthermore, honor the American virtues, and to the fact of comply with the responsibilities acquired because of residing in this country, deserves the opportunity to be a part of it. Desire born from the most beautiful precept that God granted to America: ``That all Men are created equal, that they are Endowed by their creator with certain Unalienable rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness'' --From the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. This Nation has the historic responsibility of preserving those natural rights to their future generations. The world is actually agitated by violence, and the security of America depends on all their inhabitants, those of us who breath the winds of freedom, those of us who enjoy the colors of diversity and those of us who love the fruit of America's land. Keep into your heart and conscience our hope and goodwill. God bless America and its freedom, generation after generation. So be it.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. This has been a long process writing this bill. I've been honored as a new member of Congress to be at the table along the way scoring some wins and some losses with regard to the final product and where I would like to see it overall. I think it's a very strong product. I'm excited that we have the real ability to bend the cost curve with a strengthened IMAC over the House version. I'm also thrilled that this new version will reduce the deficit by over $150 billion. We really can't afford not to do it. With regard to taxes and the impact on business, there have also been some very positive developments since the House version. The initial House version would have raised the tax rate that S Corps and LLCs, many small businesses, pay. I'm happy to say that that did not survive this process, we were able to get that out of the bill and that this bill is extremely beneficial for small businesses to help them save money. I think there is great potential going forward to reduce the need for tax increases and in fact allow tax cuts if we can pass comprehensive immigration reform. One of the baseline assumptions in this bill is that there will be 50 percent more undocumented immigrants after 10 years. This Nation can't afford to have 20 million undocumented immigrants. This Nation can't afford to have 10 undocumented immigrants. This Nation needs to have zero undocumented immigrants. And that will have substantial savings within health care and make sure that taxpayers are not forced to subsidize the care of an undocumented population that should not be here. That's why I'm a proud sponsor of a comprehensive immigration reform bill here in the House, and there are also efforts underway in the Senate between Senator Graham and Senator Schumer that can reap substantial savings for health care, and we can return that money right to the American people. That's why I'm proud to support this rule and this bill to build the momentum with hundreds of thousands of people in town this very week advocating comprehensive immigration reform.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1192.

Mr. POLIS. There will be, and I certainly look forward to joining my colleague from Florida, a debate this weekend on the health care bill. I am glad to see, on issues of our national parks and oceans, we are able to come together. And there are certainly other issues where Members of the body don't agree, but there will be a debate and there will be a rule proposed for that debate. I personally believe there should be several hours of debate, and I am hopeful that there will be 2 or 3 or more hours, which would then give Members on both sides who desire to present their positions the ability to do that. I do take some issue with the characterization that there has not been a vetting of these issues involved. There have been, over the past year, dozens of hearings, even, very recently, a bipartisan summit that the President convened on health care. There have been many ideas and amendments from both sides of the aisle that have been incorporated into the bill that our committee will be doing a hearing on tomorrow and referring, for consideration of the House as a whole, a rule to consider that important piece of legislation. Both of these bills that we have before us today under this rule are supported by national, regional, State, and local advocates. They are supported by leaders in education, environment, conservationists, service communities, and business communities. Through passage of these bills, we are able to bring together the desire of this Congress of a meaningful impact on creating jobs for young people, training for young people to occupy the jobs of the future, and doing some lasting good in preserving the historic character of our open spaces. The B-WET and ELG programs are exactly the kind of innovative learning that we need to cultivate an environmentally minded workforce that can compete in the increasingly green economy of the future. By teaching our children not only to enjoy but also appreciate the value and effect of our endangered national treasures, we can truly create a workforce, a community, and a society that values our environment and our national heritage and in which the environment and economy are increasingly intertwined. I reserve the balance of my time.