ms. hirono: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, i have talked about how this bill treats immigrant taxpayers; specifically, the restrictions on access to federal safety net programs. the bill prohibits immigrant taxpayers from using programs they helped to fund with the hundreds of billions of dollars of taxes that they paid. this is truly unfair. i filed an amendment to correct this unfair treatment. this amendment is number 1317. my amendment simply says that immigrant taxpayers who are lawfully present and working and who have paid all their tax liability should be able to use the federal programs their taxes pay for. this is simply common sense. i ask unanimous consent that senators boxer, rockefeller, and schatz be added as cosponsors of amendment number 1317. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hirono: i thank these senators for their support. this amendment is supported by over 180 organizations, including the national immigration law center, national council of la raza, the asia-pacific islander america

ms. hirono: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, i rise to speak about an agreement i have reached with senator graham on the hirono-murray-murkowski amendment number 1718 which has been cosponsored by senators boxer, gillibrand, cantwell, stabenow, klobuchar, warren, baldwin, mikulski, shaheen, leahy, franken, menendez and schumer. and i ask unanimous consent that senator landrieu be added as a cosponsor. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hirono: i have been speaking on the senate floor and talking with my colleagues about my concerns that the immigration bill that we are considering inadvertently disadvantages women who are trying to emigrate to the united states. i believe that the new merit-based points system for employment green cards will significantly disadvantage women who want to come to this country, particularly unmarried women. many women overseas do not have the same educational or career advancement opportunities available to men in those countries. this new merit-based system will prioritize gre

ms. hirono: thank you. mr. president, i rise to speak on my amendment, hirono number 1504, cosponsored by senators murray, murkowski, boxer, gillibrand, cantwell, stabenow, klobuchar, warren, baldwin, mikulski, landrieu, shaheen and leahy. i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment. mr. leahy: i would object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. ms. hirono: thank you. so noted. to continue, mr. president, the immigration bill clearly if inadvertently disadvantages women who are trying to immigrate to the united states. s. 744 reduces the opportunities for immigrants to come under the family-based green card system. the new merit-based point system for employment green cards will significantly disadvantage women who want to come to this country, particularly unmarried women. many women overseas do not have the same educational or career advancement opportunities available to men in those countries. this new merit-based system will prioritize green cards for immigrants with high levels of ed

ms. hirono: mr. president, thank you. i believe hope and fairness lie at the core of what makes our country great. 50 years ago president kennedy called on the country to embrace civil rights legislation that would end the unfair treatment of millions of people as second-class citizens. congress responded and the country is better for it. this week, we in the senate are debating comprehensive immigration reform legislation that gives hope to the millions of undocumented people who live in this country to enable them to emerge from the shadows and live full lives. it is our time to act. we should pass this important legislation. i thank the gang of eight and their staff for their hard work negotiating the bill and getting it through committee and on to the floor. they have set an example of bipartisanship on a tough issue that is all too rare these days. i also thank senator leahy and his staff for his able leadership during the markup. it was a remarkably open and fair process full of principled debate. that's how the sen

ms. hirono: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. no: i ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hirono: madam president, i believe that we must fix the immigration bill to make it fairer for women. the bill proposes a new merit-based point system for allocating green cards for future immigrants. simply put, the point system makes it harder for women than for men to come to this country. the theory behind the merit system is that we should give immigration preferences to people who hold advanced degrees or work in high-skilled jobs. this idea ignores the discrimination women endure in other countries. too many women overseas do not have the same educational or career advancement opportunities available to men in those countries. in practice, the bill's new point system takes that inequitable treatment abroad and saoeplts it into -- and cements it into our immigration law. this bill reduces the opportunities for immigrants to come under the family-based green card system. curr

ms. hirono? mr. king? >> aye. >> mr. inhofe? >> aye. >> mr. mccain? >> aye by proxy. >> mr. policewoman bliss? >> aye. >> mr. wicker? >> aye. >> ms. ayotte? >> aye by proxy. >> mrs. fischer? >> aye. >> mr. graham? >> aye. >> mr. visiters? >> aye. >> mr. blunt? >> aye. >> mr. lee? >> aye by proxy. >> mr. cruz? mr. chairman? >> thank you all very much. this has been a very, very, very good constitution, debate -- discussion, debate, and i believe a good resolution. nonetheless, time tell that. we will now meet in room 222 at 4:30 pursuant to -- >> mr. chairman? >> yes. >> mr. i just want to procedurally make sure i know when to make my motion to make the entire mark oip? >> that'll be at the meeting that starts at 4:30. >> okay. [inaudible conversations] >> according to the centers for disease control, prescription painkiller abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the u.s. this morning the white house drug policy director will testify at a house subcommittee about prescription drug abuse. live coverage at 9:30 eastern. >> she was born in charleston in 1898. her father was