Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) made this statement on the vote to bring debate to a close on the Senate immigration bill.  The motion failed by a vote of 50-45.  Sixty votes are needed to end debate.

“The legislation secures our nation’s border, ensures workers are legal, provides for a temporary guest worker program, and punishes the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States in a fair manner.  The legislation is far from perfect, but it is a realistic approach to dealing with the very serious immigration problems facing our nation.   

“The last vote in the Senate is a bump in the road to enacting comprehensive immigration reform.  Once the legislative logjam is broken, I believe a majority of Republican and Democratic Senators will approve the legislation.  There remains strong bipartisan support for the reform bill. 

“I’m optimistic the legislation will come back to the floor in a matter of weeks.  We will have more votes on the issue.  There is no good reason, given the wide support for this bill, that we cannot have a final passage vote before the July 4th break.

“President Bush deserves great credit and praise for bringing us to this point in the debate.  Without his leadership, we would not be on the verge of passing comprehensive immigration reform.  With his continued leadership I know that we will cross the finish line in the coming weeks.”

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