mr. speaker , i wanted to come to the floor today to speak in favor of reforming our system for asylum and against the move to strike the necessary reforms incorporated in h.r. 418 . 
it has been suggested throughout out this debate yesterday and today that because there is no specific recommendation made by the 9-11 commission to reform our asylum system that we in congress should do nothing to fix it . 
that in my opinion is insane . 
my colleagues and friends on the other side of the isle suggest we stick our heads in the sand and ignore one of the tools used by terrorists to gain access to and remain in our country . 
make no mistake , the 9-11 commission report does specifically state that our asylum system was and is used by terrorists to carry out their schemes to kill americans . 
let me quote from the report and its accompanying statements : the report states , speaking of the first trade center bombing , `` ... ..ramazi yousef , who had also entered with fraudulent documents but claimed political asylum and was admitted . 
it quickly became clear that yousef had been a central player in the attack . 
he had fled to pakistan immediately after the bombing and would remain at large for nearly two years. '' later in the report it talks about the outdated immigration benefits system , `` ... ..when doris meissner became ins commissioner in 1993 , she found ... .. 
the asylum and other benefits systems did not effectively deter fraudulent applicants . 
finally , `` terrorists in the 1990s , as well as the september 11 hijackers , needed to find a way to stay in or embed themselves in the united states if their operational plans were to come to fruition. '' `` this could be accomplished ... .. 
by applying for asylum after entering . 
in many cases , the act of filing for an immigration benefit ( such as claiming asylum ) sufficed to permit the alien to remain in the country until the petition was adjudicated . 
terrorists were free to conduct surveillance , coordinate operations , obtain and receive funding , go to school and learn english , make contacts in the united states , acquire necessary materials , and execute an attack. '' so , if i am to understand my friends on the other side , we are to ignore the problem of asylum abuse and do nothing . 
