Departing CA Congressman Brian Bilbray makes final pitch for E-verify

Kitty Felde | January 2nd, 2013, 11:52am


Congressman Brian Bilbray, Chair of House Immigration Reform Caucus, is leaving Capitol Hill after three terms and taking his surfboard with him.

A California Congressman devoted most of his last speech on the US House floor to a topic he’s promoted since he got to Congress: immigration. He also fired a parting shot about DC’s weather.

Republican Congressman Brian Bilbray of San Diego is a big fan of E-verify, the electronic data base companies can use to check the immigration status of prospective employees. In his final speech on the House floor, Bilbray said making E-verify mandatory could help solve the budget crisis. "When are we going to stop the practice of people who are committing a crime by employing illegal immigrants?" he asked. "Take the tax deduction away and require that if a business wants to claim a business deduction for employing somebody that we make sure those employees are legal."

Democrat Scott Peters defeated Bilbray in the November election. The three-term lawmaker has packed up his office, including the surfboard that graced his wall. He told his colleagues he was going to miss "a lot of faces" in Washington.

"But as a San Diegan," he added, "let me assure you, I will not miss the weather."

Not to worry, there’s still a surfer on the Hill. Huntington Beach Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher keeps three boards in his DC office.

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/politics/2013/01/02/11803/departing-ca-congressman-brian-bilbray-makes-final/