Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Weekly Address: President Obama – Strengthening our Economy by Passing Immigration Reform

Tags:

From the White House – Weekly Address

President Obama discusses how a large, bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would add a big boost to our economy, strengthen Social Security, and modernize our legal immigration system to make it more consistent with our value. He calls on Congress to pass this commonsense bill quickly so that we can fix our broken immigration system and keep America strong for years to come.

Transcript: Strengthening our Economy by Passing Bipartisan Immigration Reform

Hi, everybody.  Two weeks ago, a large bipartisan majority of Senators voted to pass commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform – taking an important step towards fixing our broken immigration system once and for all.

This bill was a compromise, and neither side got everything they wanted.  But it was largely consistent with the key principles of commonsense reform that most of us in both parties have repeatedly laid out.  If passed, the Senate’s plan would build on the historic gains we’ve made in border security over the past four years with the most aggressive border security plan in our history.  It would offer a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million people who are in this country illegally – a pathway that includes paying penalties, learning English, and going to the end of the line behind everyone trying to come here legally.  And it would modernize our legal immigration system to make it more consistent with our values.

The Senate’s plan would also provide a big boost to our recovery.  And on Wednesday, we released a report detailing exactly how big a boost that would be.

The report is based on the findings of independent, nonpartisan economists and experts who concluded that, if the Senate’s plan becomes law, our economy will be 5% larger in two decades compared to the status quo.  That’s $1.4 trillion added to our economy just by fixing our immigration system.

Here in America, we’ve always been a nation of immigrants.  That’s what’s kept our workforce dynamic, our businesses on the cutting edge, and our economy the strongest in the world.   But under the current system, too many smart, hardworking immigrants are prevented from contributing to that success.

Immigration reform would make it easier for highly-skilled immigrants and those who study at our colleges and universities to start businesses and create jobs right here in America.   Foreign companies would be more likely to invest here.  The demand for goods and services would go up – creating more jobs for American workers.  Every worker and business would be required to pay their fair share in taxes, reducing our deficit by nearly $850 billion over the next two decades.  And since a large portion of those taxes go towards retirement programs that millions of Americans depend on, Social Security would actually get stronger over the long-term – adding two years to the life of the program’s trust fund.

That’s what immigration reform would mean for our economy – but only if we act.  If we don’t do anything to fix our broken system, our workforce will continue to shrink as baby boomers retire.  We won’t benefit from highly-skilled immigrants starting businesses and creating jobs here.  American workers will have to make due with lower wages and fewer protections.  And without more immigrants and businesses paying their fair share in taxes, our deficit will be higher and programs like Social Security will be under more strain.

We’ve been debating this issue for more than a decade – ever since President Bush first proposed the broad outlines of immigration reform – and I think he gave a very good speech this past week expressing his hope that a bipartisan, comprehensive bill can become law.

If Democrats and Republicans – including President Bush and I – can agree on something, that’s a pretty good place to start.  Now the House needs to act so I can sign commonsense immigration reform into law.  And if you agree, tell your Representatives that now is the time.  Call or email or post on their Facebook walls and ask them to get this done.  Because together, we can grow our economy and keep America strong for years to come.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Bolding added.

~

White House White Board: Why Immigration Reform is Good for the Economy

Did you know that fixing our broken immigration system will strengthen the U.S. economy, create jobs for American workers, and cut the deficit? That’s what the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says will happen if the Senate’s bipartisan immigration reform bill were signed into law.

We put together an animated White House White Board to help explain how that would work. Check it out to learn more.

~

Editor’s Note: The President’s Weekly Address diary is also the weekend open news thread. Feel free to leave links to other news items in the comment threads.


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 20 Comments

20 comments

  2. JanF

    Rachel Maddow: The Arguments Against the Immigration Bill Are Racist

    MADDOW: [The conservative pundits were in favor of immigration reform] for a second, but it`s over now. They`ve all flipped back. They really have, like FOX is against it. All the conservative talk show hosts are against it. And while your arguments about how George W. Bush and other pro- immigration reform Republicans have addressed this matter, including Marco Rubio to a certain extent are true, I remain fascinated by the arguments against. Because the arguments against are really racist arguments. I mean, they`re really about preserving the whiteness.

  3. JanF

    Is Obama’s biggest problem … Obama?

    For the White House, immigration reform perfectly encapsulates the most frustrating reality of President Obama’s second term: If it’s to be a success, Obama needs to stay out of it – or at least out of the parts that involve Congress.

    This graph tells the tale:

    As the effective leader of one of two political parties, the president is inevitably a polarizing figure. And Obama himself is a special case. Last year, a Gallup poll found a difference of 76 percentage points in how Republicans and Democrats assessed his administration.

    University of Maryland political scientist Frances Lee:

    In her book “Beyond Ideology,” she shows that when the president announces his position on an issue – even an uncontroversial one – it increases the likelihood of a party-line vote.

    So how much of the pushback against President Obama is because he is black and how much is the hyperpartisan “win at all costs” state of politics in 21st century America is a big question. That the Republicans are using the president’s race to bolster their electoral success at the state and congressional district level is undeniable. But a bigger problem is that Republicans don’t really care about the damage they do to our country by obstructing everything in the hopes of regaining power.

Comments are closed.