the democratic. mr. schumer: as we enter -- as we enter the second day of the debate on immigration, everyone should be focused on finding a bill to protect the dreamers and address border security that can get 60 votes. that's the ballgame. the majority leader's desire to vote on unrelated partisan immigration bill, legislation that's not only silent on dreamers but also silent on border security as well, that's not a productive way to begin the debate. let's get to the crux of the issue. let republicans offer whatever they want on daca and border security and we'll do the same. the leader supports the proposal by senator grassley that's essentially the president's plan. let's vote on that first. we will have several bipartisan bills to offer. we should vote on those too. now, democrats are focused like a laser on finding a partisan bill that can pass the senate to protect the dreamers. democrats are focused like a laser on finding a bipartisan bill that can pass the senate pro...

leadership time is reserved. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: it's now wednesday morning, the week the senate set aside to debate daca, border security, interior enforcement, and other immigration issues. i promised i would clear the way to debate these matters this week, and i have. i promised i would ensure a fair amendment process in which both sides could offer legislation for discussion and votes, and i have. just yesterday the congressional hispanic caucus released a letter thanking me for keeping my commitment and urged the senate to resolve this issue quickly. but we haven't even been able to get started yet. haven't even been able to get started. yesterday i tried twice to open the debate and start the voting. both times my democratic colleagues objected. i'm a little perplexed, frankly, by the holdup. my democratic colleagues have spent months, months, as we all know, demanding the senate take up this issue. they even...