Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from New York for his leadership on the immigration reform issue and his impassioned words. We also have with us this evening one of the original cosponsors of H.R. 15, a leader on immigration reform, the gentlelady from Washington, Ms. DelBene.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentlelady from Washington for her leadership on this issue. This body's continual refusal to act on immigration reform sadly comes at a tremendous cost to our country and to our security as a Nation. The financial costs, according to the CBO--it is estimated that the Senate bill would reduce our deficit by over $135 billion, grow millions of new jobs, and boost our economy. In fact, in the 4 months since the Senate bill was passed, we have already missed over $5 billion in revenue and tens of thousands of jobs, jobs that Americans could use that have not been created, that don't exist today, because of this body's failure to act. In the spirit of Veterans Day, it is important to highlight the tradition of military service that the gentleman from New York and the gentlelady from Washington talked about. At a time when the military is facing recruitment issues, making sure we have the very best men and women to wear our uniform and defend our Nation, many individuals who fall under the deferred action program are not allowed to serve in our military. We are talking about DREAMers, young people who grew up here, might have been here since 2 or 5, and know no other country, are as American as you or I, many of whom want to give back, want to risk their life to protect their country, the only country they know, the country that they love, and yet, the military is not allowed to recruit them, and they are not allowed to serve. It has been estimated that more than 30,000 young immigrants would join the military and qualify for legal status if we passed comprehensive immigration reform. Key provisions of H.R. 15, our immigration reform bill, would have important and lasting benefits for our Armed Forces, and it has broad support from the military. For example, the bill would allow deferred action childhood arrivals to enlist in all branches of the U.S. military, including the National Guard, and be provided with an expedited path to citizenship in recognition of their service to our great Nation. Many immigrant servicemembers have become exemplary soldiers. Until 2009, only citizens and permanent residents were allowed to serve. In 2009, the Department of Defense introduced the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which allowed visa holders with high-level skills to enlist in the military and earn U.S. citizenship through their service. We are fortunate as a Nation to have talented and hardworking immigrants who want to serve in the military, but this opportunity today is largely restricted to special visas for medical professionals and language experts. While that improves the security of our country, it would be improved even more by passing H.R. 15 to benefit from the great potential and the tens of thousands of would-be servicemembers who are asking to give back to our country, who are asking to put their lives on the line to defend the country they love, the country they know, the country that they want to serve. Millions of aspiring Americans who want nothing more than to pay their fair share, who want nothing more than to give back to our country, to make our country stronger. It is time for us to find a way for DREAMers, for hundreds of thousands of other talented people, to pursue their dreams in the only country they know. Whether their dreams take them to the front lines of combat defending our Nation or to the front lines of competitive jobs in the private sector, or to other forms of public service, failure to take action only perpetuates an underground economy in which our Nation fails to benefit from the great depth of human capital and talent that resides in immigrants that are already here, are already in many cases working, and already in many cases are contributing members of the communities that they live in. It is simply a matter of formalizing that process and restoring the rule of law so that we have a legal way of facilitating the flow of immigrants to our country. I can reconcile that we are both a Nation of immigrants and a Nation of laws. Those two values that we have as Americans, a Nation of immigrants and a Nation of laws, far from being mutually exclusive, are complementary. H.R. 15 and the comprehensive Senate bill honor that tradition. That is why more than 70 percent of the American people support comprehensive immigration reform. It is why I am confident, Mr. Speaker, that placed before the floor of this House, H.R. 15 would pass today, would pass tomorrow, would pass next week. I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Goodlatte, as well as the chair of the Rules Committee, Mr. Sessions, yesterday in the Rules Committee what the plan was for immigration reform, why we were bringing forth bills with regard to asbestos, a legitimate problem to be sure, a bill that has passed this Chamber before, and a bill that will not likely be taken up by the Senate, but a bill that comes under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, why are we spending days and days debating this bill rather than actually solving a problem of immigration reform. Mr. Speaker, I know there are victims of asbestos poisoning, I know there are companies that want to resolve this issue, but I can tell you honestly, I haven't heard from any constituents who called my office begging Congress to take up asbestos reform. It is an issue; we should deal with it. I hope there is a bipartisan approach. But not one, not one of my constituents, last week, last month, last year, not one, called my office and said: We demand action. We demand action on asbestos reform. Not one. Thousands--thousands--not only have called my office, have attended rallies in my office. I have never had thousands of people with the archbishop, with my good friend from Chicago, Luis Gutierrez, who joined us in my district, thousands packed a church for immigration reform. Thousands packed a church for immigration reform. Not one call, not one phone call, not one email, asking Congress to pass asbestos reform. A thousand people in an afternoon. We had to close off promotion because it filled up so much, not to mention the thousands if not tens of thousands of emails and phone calls and letters saying, solve this issue. Solve this issue, Congressman. Solve this issue, Congress; we don't like the fact that there are 10 million people here illegally. We don't like that we dishonor the rule of law. I don't like the fact that my cousin is in detention and might be deported even though he has American kids to support. I don't like that. You know what, Mr. Speaker? When we consider how unpopular this Congress is, it is no wonder that instead of acting on issues that Americans care about, we are discussing issues that, yes, we can discuss, of course, spend a day, spend 2 days. Are they going anywhere? I don't know, but issues that I haven't heard about. I certainly haven't had a church with thousands of people in my district calling for that issue. That's why we need to act.

Mr. POLIS. I am happy to yield.

Mr. POLIS. Not to put you on the spot, but would you say it is more or less than people who have demanded that Congress act on asbestos reform?

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today honoring John ``Jack'' Hess, Ph.D. for receiving the Longs Peak Council Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. His academic and professional contributions to the field of geology should serve as an example to all Americans of how one's career can serve and improve his or her community. A former Eagle Scout, Jack has served as a Congressional Science Fellow for Senator Harry Reid and currently serves as a member of the United States Commission for UNESCO, the United States National Committee for Geological Sciences, and the Science Committee for the National Natural Landmarks Program. In 2000, Jack was bestowed the Silver Antelope Award, the highest award the western region can provide. Since his arrival in Colorado in 2001, Jack has served on the Board of Directors and as a chair for the Longs Peak Council. As the representative of Colorado's second congressional district, home to incredible geological structures such as The Flatirons, I am honored to recognize Jack for his vast contribution to this country and my district.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Will the gentleman yield for a moment?

Mr. POLIS. I appreciate the gentleman from Georgia, and I appreciate his words, that there is a lot of important work going on. Committees are meeting. You mentioned the Judiciary Committee working on patents. It is a very important issue. I just wanted to ask the gentleman, with all of the important work that is going on, why the House will be adjourning on Wednesday and not meeting next week as well?

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we will offer an amendment to the rule that would allow the House to consider the Make It In America Manufacturing Act of 2013. To discuss the proposal, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, since this week is spoken for, that leaves us with 19 legislative days before the end of the session. Reportedly, I have read in the press, that House leadership is struggling to find ways to fill that time. Well, I have an idea. Four weeks is more than enough time to pass immigration reform; and if we can't stay here on Thursday and Friday to do it, let's do it in the 19 days we have left. There is no reason at all for us to leave here in December, disappoint the American people, without taking action on an issue that is on Speaker Boehner's agenda and on Majority Leader Cantor's agenda for over a year. Speaker Boehner and the House leadership can present a plan for votes on immigration reform before the end of the year. Every week that Congress is in session until we pass immigration reform, I will be on the floor speaking about the cost of inaction. Immigration reform will create 750,000 to 900,000 jobs for Americans that are out of work. My colleague from Texas mentioned that there are dangerous people that we don't know where they are in this country. That is true. By passing comprehensive immigration reform, we will make sure that we know where people who represent a threat to this Nation are. The people have to register. Enforcement of the law actually means something. The Senate has acted and passed a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration bill last June. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives hasn't dedicated a single minute of legislative floor time to any immigration bill; and so, too, this week, this House is going home Wednesday instead of discussing immigration reform. The price of inaction is too heavy a price to pay for the American people. The majority of this body--the Republicans who control the floor of the House--have a choice: they can sit back, twiddle their thumbs and watch the costs of our immigration problems go up for the American people, destroying more jobs and decreasing our deficit; or they can come to the table, start a serious discussion about immigration reform, bring a bill to the floor of the House and pass it, reduce our deficit, improve security, and create jobs for Americans. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' and defeat the previous question. I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I urge us to bring up immigration reform. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. POLIS. Reclaiming my time, and in that mix of the pay-fors might be immigration reform. That won't get us fully there. That is $200 billion, and I would have to see the scoring on getting it down to 25; but that is a pay-for that I think would have support from my side of the aisle. There are other pay-fors that would as well. Now, we are not willing to do this if it is going to increase the deficit, as we have talked about. If we just bring down tax rates for the people and that goes to the deficit, I think there would be problems on both sides of the aisle. But if we can offset it with spending cuts, if we can offset it with immigration reform, if we can offset it by getting rid of loopholes for the oil and gas industry, I think we have a good, bipartisan way to discuss bringing down tax rates for all Americans going forward. Immigration needs to reflect our values as Americans. It needs to bring people out of the shadows, enforce our laws, be good for American business, be good for labor, create jobs, and help make America more competitive. Let me talk briefly, Mr. Speaker, about the overwhelming public support for immigration reform. Take my home State of Colorado as an example. More than three-quarters of Coloradans support comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the people already here. In California, there have been a number of polls. In the 21st District, represented by my friend and colleague, Representative Valadao, 77 percent of voters support the Senate immigration bill, H.R. 15, comprehensive immigration reform. In the 22nd District in California, represented by my friend and colleague, Mr. Nunes, over 74 percent support H.R. 15-style legislation. Let's move to Nevada. In the Second District of Nevada, represented by my friend, Mr. Amodei, 72 percent, Mr. Speaker, of voters support comprehensive immigration reform. In the Third District of Nevada, represented by my colleague, Mr. Heck, over 74 percent. I can go on and on; the point being, Mr. Speaker, that the American people are demanding action of this body. H.R. 15 is simply common sense. Instead of going home after 1 day of work, let's bring it to the floor on Thursday, then pass it on Friday, Mr. Speaker. Let's get it done. Common sense. If the House majority is serious about bolstering innovation, growing our economy, reducing our deficit, bringing down taxes, increasing prosperity for all Americans, a pro-growth agenda that they frequently lend lip service to, then put this immigration reform bill on the floor, and let the House work its will. It will pass. We can attract investment and entrepreneurs and encourage them to create American jobs, reduce our deficit, bring down the tax burden and, guess what, help restore integrity to our entitlement programs, help make sure that people are paying in to Social Security and Medicare, and that they are solvent. We can accomplish that this week. Or, you know, if you really want to go home on Wednesday of this week, let's come back next week, instead of taking next week off, and we will pass immigration reform then. I will be happy, and many Members from my side of the aisle would be happy, to cancel vacation plans for next week to come back and pass immigration reform; and I would encourage my colleague from Texas to encourage his leadership to do that. It is time, Mr. Speaker. Frankly, it is past time. H.R. 15 improves border security, interior enforcement, resolves the issue of the 11 million people who are here illegally, improves our legal immigration system. The bill makes sure that the Department of Homeland Security develops a comprehensive plan to protect our southern border, a plan that has passed unanimously by the House Homeland Security Committee, Democrats and Republicans joining together to actually get serious about our border security. The American people are calling out for this body to take the moral high road, the economically beneficial path, for Democrats and Republicans to work together to bring a comprehensive immigration reform bill to the House before the end of the year. So I can't support this rule today, Mr. Speaker. I can't support a rule that sends us home on Wednesday of a workweek. I can't support a rule that only gives us 19 more legislative days before the end of the year. Mr. Speaker, I would love to be able to support a rule here on the floor of the House. And if my colleague from Texas and my colleagues on the Rules Committee are willing to bring forward a rule, bring forward H.R. 15 Thursday, bring it forward next week, I will be happy to stand here and proudly support that rule. But until we reach that time, I will have to voice my opposition to the rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. POLIS. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule, which is a closed rule for H.R. 992, the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act. It only makes in order one amendment for H.R. 2374, the Retail Investor Protection Act, and it would allow for this political game that we like to play which is called the ``vote on the disapproval of raising the debt ceiling,'' which I will talk about a little bit more later. What I truly object to here is the way that this body, this House, is only meeting for one full day this week. We came in yesterday evening around 6:30 p.m. We are meeting today and, it is my understanding, for about half the day tomorrow. Most people in this country, Mr. Speaker, work a solid 40-hour workweek. I don't know why Members of Congress in this House, the expectations would somehow be they work 10, 12, 15 hours a week, call it a week, and go home, when there are many important things that we could be doing. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Speaker. What we are talking about today--and I agree with some of the bills under this rule and I disagree with others--is an honest day's work. We are discussing and debating important bills. Would that we were having these kinds of discussions for 5 days a week rather than 1 day a week, Mr. Speaker. While I disagree with this approach to getting very little work done that is important to the people of this country, this bill does make in order H.R. 992, which I support. I think this bill is common sense. It modifies a revision of the Dodd-Frank bill, which many, including many of the bill's authors, like former Representative Barney Frank and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, regard as problematic. It corrects that. Many economists and regulators have noted that, without this legislation, it is quite likely that certain swaps activity could be pushed out from the heavily regulated bank institutions, having the opposite effect of what many of us wanted to accomplish with the Dodd- Frank bill and increasing costs to financial institutions. In fact, if we don't pass this bill, it could make our financial system more susceptible to systemic risk and reduce our international competitiveness, according to former Chairman Bernanke. I am confident that this bill will pass with a strong bipartisan coalition and does represent important work that this body will do. The underlying bill, H.R. 992, also ensures that federally backed financial institutions can continue to conduct risk-mitigation efforts that serve commercial and hedging needs of their customers, while still prohibiting dangerous swaps that contributed to our economic collapse. I am pleased to join my colleagues from across the aisle in making this important fix, rather than repealing the law entirely. I wish, Mr. Speaker, that the approach to ObamaCare and the Affordable Care Act was more analogous to this approach that we are having with Dodd-Frank. I think many of us who supported Dodd-Frank agree there are a number of changes that need to be made. As far as I know, in the history of this institution, there has never been a perfect piece of legislation passed. It is regularly routine to have cleanup bills that improve and build upon what has been done. I wish that we could get there with the Affordable Care Act. I am a cosponsor of a number of bills that I think would improve the Affordable Care Act. I know that my colleagues from across the aisle are as well. I think it is time to get past this discussion of trying to repeal ObamaCare and instead get to a discussion of: How do we make it work for our country? How do we make health care work for our country? How do we make health care affordable for our country and build upon the successes of the Affordable Care Act and address the shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act? This rule also makes in order H.R. 2374, the Retail Investor Protection Act, which addresses pending rulemakings at both the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the new fiduciary standards of care. Again, while the merits of this legislation are up for debate, under this rule the House majority only allowed consideration of one amendment for the two underlying bills. Instead, it is sending us home early with half a day of work tomorrow, Wednesday, rather than staying through the week and allowing further discussion of additional amendments and other important topics, like replacing our broken immigration system with one that works for our country. More disappointingly, the light workload this week of a day and a half is emblematic of how the next 2 months are calendared for this House of Representatives. There are only 19 days left of work for this House before the end of the year. The House is only in session for 2\1/ 2\ days before we recess in a week. Again, I think that the American people expect and demand a minimum 40-hour workweek from the people that they hire to represent them here in Washington, and I think most people in this country have more than 19 days that they have to work in November and December. That is 2 full months, November and December. Yet, we only have 19 days over that 2-month period that this body will be in session. Yet, there are critical issues that the American people are demanding that we act on. As an example, today is the 302nd day of 2013 that we have failed to bring to the floor a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Time is running short, and the need for a comprehensive immigration overhaul is growing every day. Even the United States Senate, hardly an institution that is prized for the speed with which it moves, has passed comprehensive immigration reform with more than a two-thirds majority. Now, I am proud to be a part of a coalition of House Members, a bipartisan coalition, that has introduced a bill very similar to the Senate bill that has replaced some of the border security language with House border security language, H.R. 15, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. This bill would create jobs, reduce our budget deficit, include a pathway to citizenship, unite families. It would help reflect our values as Americans in our immigration laws, grow the economy, create jobs for Americans here at home, and finally get real about enforcing our immigration laws. Do you realize, Mr. Speaker, there are over 10 million people in this country illegally? When are we going to get serious about enforcing our laws and not making a mockery of them? This Nation is a Nation based on the rule of law. H.R. 15 reflects that commitment, as does the Senate immigration bill. It is time that we fix our broken immigration system rather than go home on a Wednesday and meet for 19 days in a 63-day period. This is a bipartisan bill, H.R. 15. We have been joined by several Republicans--Representative Denham, Representative Ros-Lehtinen. We encourage my colleagues, and I certainly invite my friend and colleague from Texas, to join us as cosponsors of this bill that will allow us to create enforcement, a pathway to citizenship, grow jobs, and finally resolve our broken immigration system. Mr. Speaker, perhaps I am being paranoid, but it appears to me that perhaps leadership--Mr. Speaker, leadership, as you know, controls what we vote on here on the floor of the House. Leadership, of course, being my colleague, Mr. Cantor from Virginia, and my colleague, Mr. Boehner from Ohio. Perhaps, Mr. Speaker, they fear that this bill would pass if it was brought to the floor. Yes, Mr. Speaker, this bill would pass if it was brought to the floor of the House. Twenty-nine Republicans have already publicly expressed support for a pathway to citizenship. Many more Republicans, Mr. Speaker, have privately expressed support for a pathway to citizenship. It should hardly take courage to do so. Over 70 percent of the American people have expressed support for a pathway to citizenship. Regrettably, the only action that this House has taken on immigration has been one vote, which voted to undo the deferred action program for childhood arrivals. It voted to deport DREAMers. Yes, the House of Representatives actually voted to do that. Fortunately, it didn't happen. The Democrats control the Senate and stopped it. The President likely would have vetoed it. It is his program that he started in the absence of this body acting. By the way, in the absence of the House of Representatives taking on immigration reform, I hope the President expands deferred action. What other tools does he have at his disposal to address our immigration system if this body, the law-making body, refuses to actually solve the immigration issue? If this body refuses to solve the immigration issue, the number of people here illegally will only increase, and this body, the House of Representatives, and the majority, the Republican Party, who won't allow us to vote on H.R. 15, will be responsible for more illegal immigration and having more people here illegally if we do not act now. Mr. Speaker, just this week, nearly 600 conservative supporters of immigration reform will storm Capitol Hill from the faith community, the business community, the law enforcement community. An unprecedented coalition will be meeting with Republican members, and is meeting with Republican members, demanding that they take action. We are talking about Partnership for a New American Economy; the Bibles, Badges, and Business coalition for immigration reform; FWD.us; strong support from the technology and business community; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Speaker. Regrettably, the only immigration amendment that has passed this House has been to deport DREAMers. Again, thankfully, it didn't happen. The Senate and President were able to stop it. That is the only idea so far that has been proposed and, sadly, tragically, accepted by this body for dealing with DREAMers. We are talking about young people who grew up in this country, have been through American schools, football teams, cheerleaders, prom, got good grades, played by every rule they knew. They were brought here when they were 2 years old, 5 years old. Frequently, they don't even speak another language. They want to get back to our country if only we will let them. Yet, this House voted to eliminate the program that allows them to work in this country. It instead would deport them back to a country they don't know anybody in and don't speak the language of. We would be denying them the ability to be legally in the only country they know, to make our country stronger. That is action. The majority party took action on an amendment. They passed the amendment to undo the deferred action program, but I refuse to believe that that is the action that Speaker Boehner had in mind when he said he wants to move forward and fix our broken immigration system. Regardless of what we do with the DREAMers, that is only a small part of our broken immigration system. There are many adults that are working illegally in this country because we refuse to enforce or fix our immigration laws; and that will continue unless this House of Representatives chooses to change that. The American people, Mr. Speaker, are fed up. That is why enormous majorities of Democrats and Republicans, of Independents, of men, of women, of every single breakdown that you have of the American people want to see the House of Representatives fix our broken immigration system, would like to see us pass the bill, H.R. 15, here in the House of Representatives, a bipartisan bill ready for the floor today and ready to be passed into law. The House majority needs to move a bill to the floor that includes an earned pathway to citizenship, border security, enforcement of our laws, meets the needs of the businesses, the technology sector, the agriculture sector, other important sectors that rely on an immigrant workforce. And, yes, we can count the votes, Mr. Speaker. We can help Majority Whip McCarthy with his job. The votes for a pathway to citizenship, I am proud to report back to my colleague from Texas, who I know is a member of Republican leadership, and my good colleague, Mr. Sessions, we can report back, and you can report back to Majority Whip McCarthy that at least 29 House Republicans have publicly endorsed the pathway to citizenship as a component of immigration reform, the principles that are included in H.R. 15 in the Senate bill, and many more Republicans have privately committed their support. Yet we are hearing more and more about counterproductive measures that might be brought to the House. For instance, I have heard that there might be an effort to introduce the so-called SAFE Act in an immigration package, which would, essentially, turn undocumented immigrants into criminals overnight, creating an enforcement challenge. If we can't enforce our current laws, can you imagine trying to enforce a set of laws where there are 10 million or 15 million criminals in our country? Now, it is important also to distinguish, Mr. Speaker, when we look at our immigrant detention centers, and we are talking about people who are here illegally who have committed crimes, not just the civil violation of being here illegally, we join with our Republican colleagues in seeking deportation and punishment. Whether somebody is here legally or illegally, whether they have paperwork or not, if they ever commit a crime that harms our community, we have no sympathy for them, and we seek their full punishment under the law. But how can you enforce or punish people when you create a whole new class of criminals? We can barely punish the criminals we have. We already incarcerate more people, as a percentage of our population, than any other Western industrialized nation. Clearly, incarcerating and deporting more not only is not the answer, but would be a tremendous burden to the American taxpayer. Each deportation, Mr. Speaker, costs over $10,000 of your money. Over $10,000. Is that the solution? Or should we make sure that people who are working here pay taxes? Would you rather pay, Mr. Speaker, $10,000, or would you rather accept their checks to make sure that they are paying their fair share to reduce our budget deficit and reduce the tax burden on everybody else, to the tune of over $200 billion, which is how much, according to the scoring of the Senate bill, comprehensive immigration reform will reduce our deficit? And we will be happy to work with the Republican majority to use that $200 billion to reduce the individual tax rate. It is an issue that I have talked about with my colleague from Texas (Mr. Sessions). We would love to bring down those marginal rates. Instead of 39.6 percent, let's get them down to 38, 35, I think, you know, however low we can get them and bring down rates for everybody else as well.

Mr. POLIS. I will address the question to my good colleague and friend from Texas. We might be able to use the $200 billion in immigration reform to bring down the individual or corporate tax rate. I will be happy to pose that question to my good friend. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), my friend.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. So we can improve our security, and we can restore the rule of law, and we can create jobs for Americans, and we can reduce our deficit--all in one bill? What is not to like? I yield to my colleague from probably the longest congressional district in the country. I don't know if it is the largest in area, but I think it is probably the longest in the country. I yield to my good friend from Texas.

Mr. POLIS. I represent a district with two fine universities--the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University. Both have excellent graduate programs--engineering, physics, environmental engineering, the biological sciences, you name it. Like many of our institutions of higher education, a high number of students there are foreign nationals who are studying under student visas. Under our current immigration policy, Mr. Speaker, at our public State institutions, we provide this world-class education for people who fill a need in the economy--they are going to be great engineers; they are going to be great mathematicians; they are going to be great computer scientists. Guess what? They graduate with a master's, and they graduate with a Ph.D., and what do we tell them? Oh. Go back to another country, and compete against us. Compete against us. We are telling them to compete against us. How does that make sense, Mr. Speaker? What we need to do is to provide a way--and the Senate bill and H.R. 15 do this--for people who graduate with advanced degrees in these fields to be able to stay here, keeping the jobs here, because guess what? Today's companies don't care where the jobs are. You can be a computer programmer in India. You can be a computer programmer in France. You can be a computer programmer here. Out of convenience, we would rather have you here, but the job is going to follow you. It is not the other way around. In addition, if we act with H.R. 15, it will lead to over $5 billion in additional tax revenues. It will reduce our deficit by over $200 billion. It will create between three-quarters of a million and 900,000 jobs for Americans--jobs for Americans that are created under H.R. 15. It includes provisions around startups and entrepreneurs--people who want to come here to found companies and hire Americans. Don't we want that? Don't we want jobs for our brothers, our sisters, our friends, and our neighbors, jobs for Americans? H.R. 15 is the biggest jobs bill for Americans before the House of Representatives, and that is another reason we need to pass it.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Miami. I want to talk a little bit about supporting Colorado. Colorado is a purple State. It is middle of the road, with four Republicans and three Democrats in our congressional delegation. It is a State that is affected by immigration. We have a strong tradition of immigration in our district, a strong exchange of economic ties with our neighboring countries. Here are some recent polls in a few of our congressional districts in our State: In the Third Congressional District, represented by my friend, Congressman Scott Tipton, a recent poll showed that 77 percent of the people in the district--this is the district including Pueblo, Grand Junction, and Aspen--support immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. Only 17 percent oppose it. In the neighboring district of my good friend Cory Gardner, the Fourth Congressional District of Colorado, 76 percent support immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. In the district of my friend and colleague Mike Coffman of Aurora, Colorado, and Douglas County, 74 percent support immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. Failure to act and avoid this issue is, in fact, not delivering for the American people. One cannot speak out of both sides of their mouth forever and say that in some abstract sense we are for immigration reform but not give this body the ability to pass immigration reform. The American people, Mr. Speaker, are smarter than that. It has been 123 days since the Senate has passed an immigration reform bill. And you know what? We have H.R. 15 in the House. We want that to come to a vote. But there may be other immigration reform packages. I know there has been a bipartisan group that has been meeting for awhile. Recently, some of the Members have pulled out. If there are other ideas, let's put them on the table. But inaction for 123 days is inexcusable--inexcusable. The time for action is not now. It wasn't just yesterday. It was last year. It was 5 years ago. It was 10 years ago. We can't afford to continue to wait day after day, week after week, year after year, without taking action. The American people, Mr. Speaker, have had enough and are demanding more. There is something that we know for sure. The enforcement-only approach has failed. It hasn't worked. The number of people here illegally has only increased. We have increased the budget of the Border Patrol by 10 times, and the number of unauthorized people here illegally increased by 3 times during that same period. So what does that mean? If we increase that budget 20 times, does that mean the number of people here illegally will quadruple? Maybe. But that is clearly not a solution; just look at the data. And there is a human toll, Mr. Speaker. From 1998 to 2010, over 5,000 people died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border looking for a better life, just as my ancestors did, Mr. Speaker, and just as your ancestors did. From 1998 to 2007, over 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were removed from this country. Yes, little Johnny, little Sara coming home from school, they are American. They were born here. They will vote some day. Coming home from school and, Sorry, Mom is in deportation proceedings. Your mom won't be here for you, little Johnny or little Sara. What did she do? A taillight out on her car or 10 miles over the speed limit. I got a speeding ticket last year, Mr. Speaker. I have a 2-year-old son, Mr. Speaker. To think something like that could force me to be ripped from my family--not for months, not for years--forever. There is something called the lifetime bar, Mr. Speaker. Forever being taken away from my family, Mr. Speaker, I would risk crossing that border and dying--like 5,000 people did--to be with my son, Mr. Speaker. And that is an American trait. That is what a good American would do. That is what a good American parent would do, Mr. Speaker. Let's let people give back to our country and provide for their families. That is an American value, and we can do that now. My colleague, Mr. Takano, talked about a governing majority. There is a governing majority for passing H.R. 15, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, now. I can't tell you whether it is 25 Republicans or 45 Republicans or 80 Republicans, but they will join nearly every Democrat, if not every Democrat, in passing comprehensive immigration reform now. I ask my colleague from Miami if he has ever seen this kind of coalition of business and labor and faith-based community and agriculture and farm workers--unlikely suspects--coming together around something that is such common sense. Have you seen this kind of unprecedented coalition of public support on any other issue, and what do you think it means for immigration reform?

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Miami, a leader on the effort to reform our broken immigration system. I want to talk about the overwhelming public support for immigration reform. More than 70 percent of the American people support immigration reform, including majorities of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. The American people know that what we are doing now isn't working, and by failing to act and only continuing to perpetuate the undermining of the rule of law, a population of over 10 million people that are here illegally and a system that is out of whack with reality, will only continue to hurt the American people. With that, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, tonight we will be talking about a very important accomplishment that this body, the House of Representatives, could make on a bipartisan basis for our country, and that is immigration reform. By refusing to act on comprehensive immigration reform, there is great cost to the American people in jobs, the undermining of the rule of law, and destruction of the opportunities that will arise by tackling this head-on. The longer we delay passing comprehensive immigration reform, the greater the cost of inaction in both economic, human, and security terms. Every week that Congress is in session for the rest of the year, I will be here on the floor, talking about the cost of inaction on immigration reform. There is a clear path forward. There is a comprehensive immigration reform bill, a compromise. It took a little give-and-take from both sides, a compromise supported by the business community and labor, by the faith community, by the law enforcement community, by farmers, and by farmworkers, that has passed the United States Senate with more than a two-thirds majority. We have introduced a similar bill, H.R. 15, here in the House with a growing number of bipartisan cosponsors and are encouraging the Speaker and the majority leader to bring this bill to a vote, where we have confidence that it will pass. Our economy will suffer tremendously if we fail to pass comprehensive immigration reform. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, immigration reform helps grow the economy, creating between 500,000 and 1 million jobs, reduces the deficit by over $200 billion, bolsters job creation, and strengthens the viability of Social Security and Medicare. What is not to like? Let's restore the rule of law to our country. Let's improve our security, and let's unite families. In human terms, the cost of inaction is inflicting a heavy toll. Over 135,000 deportations have taken place since the Senate passed immigration reform last June, including thousands of people who are noncriminals who would have benefited from immigration reform and, instead, became a cost to U.S. taxpayers to the tune of more than $10,000 each to deport. Take a few examples from my district of people that immigration reform will help today. Dianna and Kathia are two young women from Larimer County in my district. They are high school students who were brought here from Mexico as young children by their parents. They are excellent students, both straight-A students. They want to go to college. Kathia wants to go to medical school, and Dianna wants to study cinematography. Both of these young women are applicants to the President's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, and we hope that they receive their DACA permit soon, but that is only a temporary fix for a limited period of time. They are both ambitious, capable young women who want to give back to our country and make it stronger, if only we will let them. It is time to find a way for Kathia and Dianna and the so many like them to pursue their dreams and contribute to our communities without having to live in constant fear because of lack of status. Another woman in my district who feels the pain of our current broken immigration system is Norma. Norma came to the U.S. over a decade ago, like so many of our ancestors, including my great grandparents, in search of a better life. She is the mother and primary caretaker of twin boys who are U.S. citizens. Both of her children suffer from medical conditions, and she works incredibly hard to ensure that her kids have access to what they need. She is a hardworking, honest person, a leader in her community, doesn't have any criminal history or pose any kind of threat to national security. All she wants to do is to give back to our country, to pay taxes, and contribute like every other American. Nevertheless, Norma was placed in deportation proceedings last year following a traffic stop. If we don't reform our broken immigration system today, how many more families will be torn apart? People like Kathia, Dianna, and Norma feel the negative impact of this House of Representatives' failure to act on the Senate immigration reform bill every single day. There is no excuse for inaction. We need to finalize and pass immigration reform this year. I will be talking more about the cost of inaction in a few moments, but I want to yield to my good friend and colleague from Florida (Mr. Garcia), the sponsor of H.R. 15.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his words. This is 123 days. That is 123 days too long. Let's pass immigration reform now. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chair and the ranking member for their hearing, as well as the support of this bill. For those of us who represent areas of the country where the Federal Government is a major landowner, it is absolutely critical to be able to work with this body to have the flexibility we need to meet the needs of our community. This legislation is the product of a community-driven effort in Summit County where they were able to take a look at the 40-acre parcel, saw that it no longer had the characteristics of wildlife habitat or recreation, but it was ideally situated for housing for a community, which is a real need in Summit County. People who work in our thriving mountain communities need to be able to live near where they work, to be able to get their cars and vehicles off the road. For families to be able to afford to live in the area, it is an absolutely critical need that the Summit County Commissioners, as well as our municipalities, as well as others, have come to the table around finding a real-life solution. This bill is the first step. H.R. 2337 conveys a 40-acre parcel in the White River National Forest, known as the Lake Hill site, to Summit County for fair market value. Summit County will pay for all of the administrative costs associated with the conveyance. As a result, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill has no cost. In fact, proceeds from the sale will support much-needed U.S. Forest Service facility improvements and maintenance, which is absolutely critical to be able to do their job as stewards of our Federal lands, which is one of our main economic drivers for jobs, as well as a quality lifestyle in Summit County. This bill had input from a variety of local stakeholders, received broad community support from the towns of Dillon and Frisco, from Summit County, from local environmental organizations and businesses. In July, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the bill by unanimous consent; and our Senators, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, have introduced a companion bill, S. 1305, which, hopefully, will be considered in committee in the weeks ahead. This Lake Hill site was selected for sale because the property no longer has national forest character. The parcel is isolated from other U.S. Forest Service land. It sits between an interstate to the north, a highway to the south, and condominiums to the west. The parcel was heavily logged and has unsightly infrastructure. As a result, it is no longer suitable for wildlife habitat or recreation purposes, but it is ideally suitable for additional housing to reflect the needs of our growing community. Fortunately, Lake Hill can provide a great community purpose. Affordable housing availability is a critical problem in Summit County. Increasingly, families that work in Summit County are having a harder and harder time living in Summit County. During the winter, approximately one-third of the Summit County workforce has to commute into the county, sometimes 45-minute, hour- long commutes, because local housing prices are too high for many people who work in the community to be able to afford to live there. In fact, nearly 40 percent of Summit County residents are paying more for housing than they can afford. There is also a substantial housing gap in the face of a growing population. Over the last decade, the number of seniors increased faster in Summit County than any other county in Colorado. Latino households have doubled during the last decade, now comprising 15 percent of the county's population. There is a real need for affordable housing options to meet the demands of our growing workforce and the needs of our economy, a need that will only become more urgent over time. A lot of work remains to be done to put together the community partnership to look at the design elements and how this will work for the community, but this critical step can only occur here in the United States Congress, which is the transference of the Lake Hill site. It will be a perfect setting for affordable housing. The property is located in the heart of Summit County, between the towns of Frisco and Dillon, and near free public transit that is already available. This bill is a win-win. It adds affordable housing options, while providing funding for the U.S. Forest Service to improve Forest Service administrative facilities. I urge my colleagues to support this essential legislation that contributes to the well-being of Summit County and our greater community.