SPIN , SPIN, SPIN.
A reply from Coleman:
dated 10/26/07
Thank you for taking the time to contact me concerning the Development,
Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2007 (S. 2205),
introduced by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL).
On October 24, 2007, I supported a procedural motion to allow the Senate
to debate the DREAM Act. This was not a vote for the bill. I would not
have supported the Durbin bill without significant amendments. Among
the provisions I opposed were: it would put alien minors on an
expedited path to citizenship ahead of other meritorious individuals; it
contains no application deadline and would allow persons to register for
its benefits decades from now; and its confidentiality provisions are
too restrictive in terms of not allowing the Department of Homeland
Security to use the information on a person's application for
appropriate enforcement actions.
I voted for cloture on the motion to proceed to this legislation after
receiving assurances from Senator Durbin in a colloquy on the floor with
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) that he would work with Senators to
remedy these key weaknesses through the amendment process. Had we been
unable to improve the bill, I would have opposed it in a subsequent
cloture motion. In fact, that was my philosophy on the comprehensive
immigration legislation we debated earlier this year. In that instance
I voted to allow the Senate to debate the bill, but once it became clear
that its flaws could not be fixed, I opposed cloture and the bill
failed.
There are some elements of the DREAM Act which I support. I would like
to see a path that allows illegal alien children of good moral character
to legally study, work and serve in the military in this country without
jumping ahead of others in the line for citizenship. I don't think we
should punish children for the actions of their parents. Many of these
children came here illegally , through no fault of their own. They have
grown up here and this is the only country they know. Also, because of
its provisions related to military service, senior Defense Department
officials have supported the DREAM Act as a way of meeting recruitment
goals.
In closing, my vote to allow this bill to be debated is consistent with
how I view my job as U.S. Senator : not to avoid debate on the tough
issues, but to try to find solutions and common ground. I voted to move
ahead with this bill and fix its flaws - but if my concerns weren't
addressed, I would have voted no at a later time. At any rate, the
motion to proceed failed to receive the necessary 60 votes, and the
DREAM Act was withdrawn from the Senate floor.
Thank you once again for your attention on this matter. I appreciate
hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to contact me on any
issue of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Norm Coleman
United States Senate