Alan Simpson

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. We do now have a Senator from the other side.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote ordered with respect to S. 1720 be vitiated, and I now ask for its immediate consideration, that the bill be advanced to third reading, and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. I thank my colleagues. That will enable us to have final passage of this bill soon after the last amendment is presented. The gap there is because the Senators Chafee-Breaux bipartisan budget group will be at the White House. We thank them for that accommodation. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Simpson amendment, earlier presented today, be the order of business.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I have cleared these amendments with our side of the aisle. Senator Kennedy has cleared them with his side of the aisle. I urge adoption of the amendments, en bloc.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam President, I deeply thank the Senator from Ohio. With the remaining minute, let me just say I am very pleased it was withdrawn. I, too, have read the language, and the very troubling part is the part that says ``resistance to a coercive population control program'' deems that that person then fits the status of refugee. We are dealing with China, a country with a population of 1.2 billion people. We are also dealing in this amendment with India, again with one of the largest populations in the world. We are dealing with an amendment that would apply, as of course it should, to all the countries in the world. When we do this, we should bear in mind that there are already young Chinese single--unmarried--males who are even now claiming asylum on the basis that one day they will want to have a family and more than one child and thus come under this coercive birth policy. But if you are going to make a blanket application for refugee status, it reminds me so much of an American Secretary of State who visited China several years ago. He raised issues about their policies and slave labor and coercive birth policies and their immigration policies, which were very strict. When he finished, the Premier asked the Secretary, ``How many millions do you want?'' I can tell you, if this amendment, in any form or this form, were to come to pass--and I deeply appreciate the withdrawal because it was not in order--I suggest that there will be millions of people who, under this language, will qualify. We should remember that this amendment would also apply to tens of millions of persons--male and female--in India, who have undergone population control procedures--vasectomies and tubal ligations. That program began in the 1950's. Many of those millions of persons bear the marks and scars of those procedures. I would expect that it would be very difficult for INS to prove that those procedures were not coerced. So this amendment would appear to make eligible for asylum in this country millions of persons--both male and female--in China, India and many other countries. I understand the necessity to make foreign policy statements, but I think that they should not be made on an immigration measure.

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam President, I sincerely thank the Senator from Ohio. It makes our work much less difficult.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. SIMPSON. Give me your attention just for a moment, please. This amendment is about welfare reform for legal immigrants--the same issue you have already voted on seven separate times now. The reason that legal immigrants are in the situation they are in is because the person who brought them here promised to pay for their support. All we are saying is that sponsors should pay for these benefits if they have the means to do so. That is what deeming is. No legal immigrant will receive any fewer benefits than an illegal immigrant, but the legal immigrant's sponsor will have to pay for the benefits before the American taxpayers do. Should the financial burden be on the immigrant's sponsor or on the U.S. taxpayers? Take your pick.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, that disturbance is certainly in spirit with the last 10 days. I did not realize I had such support up there in that quarter, and I must say I am very pleased. Somebody once said, ``You're on a roll.'' I said, ``I have been rolled for 6 months on this issue.'' Amendments Nos. 3873 and 3874, as Modified

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, let me say this. I have two amendments filed by Senator Snowe, Nos. 3873 and 3874, as modified. Mr. President, these two noncontroversial amendments relate to problems that have developed in recent years with the movement of persons along Maine's border with the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The amendments address issues that are critically important to the economic health and livelihood of many small communities in northern Maine. These communities have suffered severe economic harm from the discriminatory application of New Brunswick's provincial sales tax and other actions taken by Canadian officials to inappropriately impede crossborder movement. I am not aware of any objections to the amendments, and I understand that they have been cleared on the other side. I ask that the amendments be approved.

Mr. SIMPSON. I have a unanimous consent request that the following amendments be accepted. There is a package of managers' amendments at the desk, cleared on both sides, that will be noncontroversial.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. SIMPSON. I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. SIMPSON. I thank the Chair.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I would like to commend my able colleague for this excellent suggestion. Unlike some of the rest of what he has proposed in connection with this legislation, I wholeheartedly commend his untiring efforts with respect to criminal aliens, which I believe have improved the bill. I think this most recent proposal is likewise one I would support, and I do hope to have occasion to consider it further.

Mr. SIMPSON. I was not aware of that regulation. Has my colleague inquired as to the position of the INS and the agency's reasoning for writing the regulation in this manner?

Mr. SIMPSON. Is this response acceptable to my colleague?

Mr. SIMPSON. I agree with my colleague that this situation deserves the attention of the INS. I would have thought that the INS Commissioner would have responded to you personally. Are the students in these programs completing their course of study? Are they receiving a liberal arts degree? I would be interested in those questions. I commend you for your interest in this issue.

Mr. SIMPSON. I would be willing to give such an amendment the consideration it deserves at that time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, we are ready to proceed with the regular order. Vote on Amendment No. 3743, as Amended

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, if I may--if the Senator will yield for a moment to let me propose a unanimous-consent request, and then the Senator from Montana may proceed. I just want to add one note. I failed to pay tribute to Chuck Blahous. He has not been part of the immigration staff, but he is my legislative director, and was he pressed into service on this bill in a most extraordinary way. I, too, thank my colleagues on the subcommittee: Senator Kennedy, of course; Senator Simon, a steady friend for 25 years; Senator Feinstein; Senator Grassley, who is always there, always steady, always someone to count on; Senator Kyl, who will leave a great impression and mark, along with Senator Feinstein, on this subcommittee in the future; Senator Specter and his steadiness; Bill Roth, my old steady friend who campaigned for me back when it was not safe to do that. I see him here. I thank him for his work. Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.