CALL !!! Talking points

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_791764.html
below points are highlight in BOLD now tell them the same information when you call

Legislation that would give permanent US residency to the children of undocumented workers if they complete two years of college or military service would cut the federal deficit by $1.4 billion over 10 years, according to a new government report.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) along with the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) also estimates that the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) would increase revenue by $2.3 billion from 2011 to 2020.

While the bill would increase net direct spending by $912 million over the 2011-2020 period. the CBO reported, "That amount reflects changes in spending for refundable tax credits, Social Security, Medicare, student loans, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS would charge fees to certify legal status under the bill. Because DHS’s costs for implementing the bill would be covered by those fees, CBO estimates that implementation by DHS would have no significant impact on spending subject to appropriation."

The report added, "CBO has not estimated other potential effects on discretionary spending, but any such effects would probably be small."

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, said in an advisory that the CBO reported what his advocacy group already knew.

"The DREAM Act is an important means of strengthening our economy, bolstering our military, and upholding American values of community, opportunity, and hard work," Sharry said.

"Both parties and both chambers of Congress should act to pass it immediately," he added.

Recent polling shows that 66 percent of US voters want Congress to pass the act. President Barack Obama's Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has also shown support for it in the lame-duck session.

"For our young people, for our country, for our country's economy, we desperately need to pass the DREAM Act," Duncan said. "We have a chance to do it now in the lame-duck session. I simply don't think we can afford to wait."

However, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) told Fox News on Sunday that the Dream Act was "poorly drafted, filled with loopholes" that "rewards illegal behavior." Sessions, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, added that the US must "confront the massive illegality [occurring] in the immigration process."

The DREAM Act has caused pressure on the Republican lawmakers from tea party activists. John C. Danforth, a former US senator and ambassador to the UN under President George W. Bush, for instance, recently discussed a possible tea party challenge to Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a long-serving moderate who supports the DREAM Act.

In Texas, Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who lost a GOP gubernatorial primary to tea party darling Gov. Rick Perry earlier in the year, is getting pressured for her swing vote from both tea party and DREAM Act activists.

"She personifies everything that the Tea Party is fighting," Konni Burton, a member of the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party steering committee, told the For Worth Star-Telegram Saturday. "She is a Republican, but when you check her votes on many issues, they are not ones that conservatives are happy with."

Last Monday night, 16 activists, including college students on a three-week hunger strike advocating for the DREAM Act's passage, were jailed for refusing to leave Sen. Hutchison's offices.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/d...on-cbo-report/

Above points are highlight in BOLD now tell them the same information when you call

Now here is another one:
Our country will reap enormous benefits when the DREAM Act is finally enacted:
 The DREAM Act will contribute to our military’s recruitment efforts and readiness.
Secretary of Defense Gates has written to DREAM Act sponsors citing the rich precedent
of non-citizens serving in the U.S. military and stating that “the DREAM Act represents
an opportunity to expand [the recruiting] pool, to the advantage of military recruiting and
readiness.”
The DREAM Act is also a part of the Department of Defense's 2010-2012
Strategic Plan to assist the military in its recruiting efforts.
 The DREAM Act will make our country more competitive in the global economy.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has stated that passing the DREAM Act will allow
“these young people to live up to their fullest potential and contribute to the economic
growth of our country.” In particular, the DREAM Act will play an important part in
the nation’s efforts to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by
2020,” something vital for America to remain competitive in today’s global economy.

 The DREAM Act will have important economic benefits. According to a recent UCLA
study, students that would be impacted by the DREAM Act could add between $1.4 to
$3.6 trillion in taxable income to our economy over the course of careers, depending on
how many ultimately gain legal status. This income is substantially higher than the
income they would earn if they were unable to attend and complete a college education.
In fact, research indicates that the average college graduate earned nearly 60 percent
more than a high-school graduate. We have much to gain from doing right by these
young people.
 The DREAM Act hwill allow our immigration and border security experts to focus
on those who pose a serious threat to our nation’s security. Secretary Napolitano
believes this targeted legislation provides a firm but fair way to deal with innocent
children brought to the U.S. at a young age so that the Department of Homeland Security
can dedicate their enforcement resources to detaining and deporting criminals and those
who pose a threat to our country.
2
Myths vs. Facts: DREAM Act
As the public debate on the DREAM Act moves forward, it is vital that the facts on this
important legislation remain clear. The Dream Act is good for our economy, our security, and
our nation. And the lenghty and rigorous process the DREAM Act establishes will ensure that
our nation is enriched with only the most promising young people who have already grown up in
America. In fact, according to a recent analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, just 38 percent
of all potential beneficiaries will successfully complete the DREAM Act’s rigorous process and
earn permanent immigration status.
Myth: Opponents claim the DREAM Act is “amnesty.”
Fact: The Dream Act requires responsibility and accountability of young people who apply to
adjust their status under the DREAM Act, creating a lenghty and rigorous process.
 Young people must meet several requirements in order to qualify for the conditional
status it will provide them. These requirements include entering the country when they
were under 16 years old, proving they have continuously lived in the U.S. for at least 5
years and graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED; demonstrating their
good moral character; proving they have not committed any crimes that would make
them inadmissible to the country. Only then can they obtain a conditional status for a
limited period of time.
 After their six year conditional status, these same individuals will need to meet
additional requirements to move on to the next phase of this process. Specifically,
they must have attended college or served in the U.S. military for at least 2 years, and
once again, pass criminal background checks, and demonstrate good moral character. If
young people are unable to fulfill these requirements, they will lose their legal status and
be subject to deportation.
 Only applies to individuals who entered the U.S. as children. According to DREAM
Act’s provisions, beneficiaries must have entered the United States when they were under
16 years old.
 DREAM Act applicants will be responsible for paying fees to cover the costs of
USCIS processing their applications. According to Section 286(m) of Immigration and
Nationality Act provisions, the cost of having U.S. Customs and Immigration Services
process DREAM Act applications will be covered by the application fees.
 DREAM Act applicants would be subject to rigorous criminal background checks
and reviews. All criminal grounds of inadmissibility and removability that apply to
other aliens seeking lawful permanent resident status would apply and bar criminal aliens
from gaining conditional or unconditional LPR status under the DREAM Act.
Additionally, decisions to grant status are discretionary, and any alien with a criminal
record not automatically barred by these provisions would only be granted status when
and if the Secretary exercises her discretion favorably.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/defa...-FactSheet.pdf