Senate Immigration Bill

The Senate has spent the past few weeks debating S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. However, the Senate has been unable to end debate on the legislation. I voted against efforts to end debate because senators were prevented from offering all their amendments and having them voted on. This is not how the Senate is supposed to operate. Furthermore, the Senate has repeated the mistake of the last session – a closed-door deal without committee hearings, informing Senators and staff of last minute details just before a vote, and a threat by the Senate Majority Leader that the closed-door deal by a handful of Senators was the only option or the Senate would reconsider last session’s failed bill.

I oppose the bill for many reasons. My first concern with the bill is that it includes amnesty and rewards immigrants for illegal conduct. In addition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) lacks the resources and management to make the so-called reforms work. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would increase federal direct spending by $10 billion over the 2008-2012 period and by $23 billion over the 2008-2017 period. I also oppose the bill because I believe it to be unworkable and impractical. Most of all, I disagree with the tactics. This was a back room deal and in shutting out many Senators from one of the most important issues of our time, the issue has been subjugated to politics and unworkable compromise.

Born in Topeka April 20, 1936, Roberts is the son of the late Wes Roberts, Chairman of the Republican National Committee under President Dwight Eisenhower. Following graduation from Kansas State University in 1958, Roberts served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years, then worked as a reporter and editor for several Arizona newspapers. He joined the staff of Kansas’ U.S. Senator Frank Carlson in 1967. In 1969, Roberts became Administrative Assistant to First District U.S. Congressman Keith Sebelius. Roberts was elected to Congress in 1980, succeeding Sebelius upon his retirement. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 following the retirement of Senator Nancy Kassebaum (Baker) and won re-election in 2002. Roberts and his wife, Franki, have three grown children – David, Ashleigh and Anne-Wesley.