Washington D.C. –As Ranking Republican of the Immigration Subcommittee, Congressman Steve King initiated a rarely used process that resulted in yesterday’s minority-led hearing.  Titled “The U.S. Economy, U.S. Workers and Immigration Reform, the hearing was comprised of one panel of witnesses named by Republicans.

“The Democrats and the Administration want to redefine the meaning of amnesty for illegal aliens.  If that isn’t dubious enough, the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have rejected minority witnesses so that nothing but a pro-Amnesty view can be heard,” said King.

Republicans initiated this minority-led hearing because they were denied a witness by Democrats at a hearing last Thursday, May 3, 2007.  The rules of the House of Representatives allow the minority party to request an entire hearing for their own witnesses according to House Rule XI clause (2)(J)(1). 

King explained, “When the Democrats and the Administration try to dominate every aspect of the legislative process, you start to hear some odd things.  When Democrats packed the hearing with their witnesses last week, their opinions were unchallenged by facts.  One of their witnesses claimed that flooding the workforce with cheap labor helps raise wages.  He might as well have said that lifting more weight makes you lighter!”

“Every amnesty apologist, Democrats or Administration officials, should know that we will counter their attempts to obscure the truth.  The American people will not accept amnesty.  And the definition of amnesty remains the same: to pardon immigration lawbreakers and reward them with the objective of their crime,” concluded King.

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