Dream Act - What's the Rush?

The US House and Senate are expected to hold votes on the DREAM Act later this week, sometime between Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Friday, Dec. 10, but what’s the rush? I am all for having an open and honest debate on the merits of the DREAM Act, but the last time there was a congressional hearing on this bill was seven years ago when I was 12 years old! Believe me—a lot has changed in this time, and this week is definitely not the time to be having a debate on the DREAM Act.

What is most interesting are the conservatives who are advocating for passage of the DREAM Act. I don’t necessarily think the idea that a conservative could support the DREAM Act is weird, but while aspects of it might be beneficial if opened up for discussion, this piece of legislation is in its fourth or fifth revision and surely laden with harmful changes and hidden “riders” that even the Act’s most ardent supporters would acknowledge are unnecessary. It baffles me that despite the fact that unemployment ticked up to 9.8 percent this month, certain politicians would rather focus on social issues before taking solid steps to get more people back to work.

To believe the passage of the DREAM Act would do more for our ailing economy than extending the Bush cuts during the lame-duck session is incredibly wrong. For one, the Bush tax cuts are on a set deadline and our elected officials should be more concerned with preventing a massive tax increase than with rushing through another large piece of legislation they haven’t even read. While aspects of the DREAM Act have potential to contribute to our economy, it is ridiculous to believe that the DREAM Act in its current form is the one issue facing the lame-duck session of Congress that can do the most to turn our economy around.

I understand how frustrating waiting can be, but it is important that if we are going to tackle major pieces of legislation, we get it as right as possible. Immigration and border security are extremely important in our national dialogue right now, but with so many Americans unemployed, it is more important to get them back to work. In these last waning days of the lame-duck session of the 111th Congress, I would suggest our representatives focus on extending the Bush tax cuts in order to keep from kicking the American job market while it’s down.

Once our economy has rebounded, I think most members of Congress would be open to having an honest discussion on the DREAM Act and all sorts of other bills that address a wide range of issues. This is not the right bill for America at this time when nearly one in ten Americans cannot find a job and even more have lost hope or stopped looking, so again, why the rush? I hope more people can keep in mind that in the midst of this recession, we have less than a month before the largest tax increases in recent history—let’s get our priorities straight!

Comments

"why would they be so intent on passing a 4th version of a bill that was written nearly a decade ago?  "

You seem smarter than that Fernando, you know why. If the dream act is not passed now, it will take years before it can come down to a vote again. In addition they did try to pass it in September, is not just "right now".

Hi,

I sincerely appreciate your efforts to be reasonable, but I can't help notice that your argument is flawed. One of the major arguments that you raise is that this is a political move by democrats and that they do not have our interest at heart. While i do believe that senator Reid and other democrats think this is the right thing to do, if this is a political move , i do NOT care. I, like most Americans understand that Washington is flawed, but that is not an excuse to keep millions of lives in limbo.  If we had real leaders in Washington they would look beyond the people standing on the other side of the aisle and face the real issue: Millions of dreams deferred. This is not about politics, this is about real stories of children who are graduating h.s or college and finding themselves STUCK. Its about men and women who want to serve in the armed forces and are unable to do so because of complicated, flawed laws.

In terms of the economy, the congressional budget office estimates the DREAM Act will contribute 1.4 billion to our economy. And when it comes to tax cuts, President obama caved in today and Washington is on the verge of a compromise that will extend them for the next two years. At this time i should point out that senators who were willing to hold hostage other important legislations, such as the DREAM Act, now have no excuse to do so.

I don't think I need to point out to you why the DREAM Act is a fair law, it seems to me clear that you understand the reasoning behind our message. But, I do want you to keep in mind that supporters of this bill have been waiting not for one year or three years, but rather ten! The "rush," as you call it is a reflection of the hard work millions of DREAMers have put into this movement.

Lastly, the changes that have been made to the bill were put in place only to cater to the worries of many republican senators, not to somehow cheat the American public.

Thank you for your time in addressing these comments.

Yessica Martinez

Normal 0

Dream Act???

 

Why the special treatment?

 

Some of us once had dreams of our own.

 

Back in the 60’s the Federal Government came into the public schools and brainwashed us as little children with the message that the children we were about to have were unwanted because the population was rising so fast. They launched a program called, “Zero Population Growth”. They pushed Family Planning and birth control pills. Now they call the same programs, "Safe Sex" but the results are the same. I think you and I both know that you only have to trick people for their few child bearing years and there is no going back.

 

Many of us never had a say in the future of our unborn.

 

I am the result of two living cells. One from each of my parents. They are the result of two living cells, one from each of their parents. I wasn't just born. I am a continuation of life. I am a living thing that reaches back into time perhaps 400 million years and the result of billions of joining of pairs of cells. It is possible that if you were to follow my cells back to my parent’s cells and beyond that my family tree touches every living thing here on earth. That is if we limit ourselves to believing life was created here on earth. If it rained down from the immensity of the universe it could reach back into that immensity of time and space, and who knows what relationships and who knows what species.

 

My family line succeeded, at least until I came up against the Federal Government and their plan to control the population.

 

I have seen the Federal Government do little else to control the population.

I'm 20 years old i was brought by my parents when i was 5 years old and I am one of that million that would benefit from the Dream Act. I have fallowed the Act for all my high school years and i hope now is the time it passes. People need to know what they are talking about before opening there mind to opinion. I am sick of reading articles that state false information about the Dream Act. The Dream act is not even close to amnesty not even for those who meet qualification.
On a lighter note, i would like to wish luck to all my fellow young Americans that are putting their future on hold because this Act is not passed. 

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