House Democrats now want healthcare for illegals ?

House Democrats now want healthcare for illegals ?



House Committee Rejects Closing Health Coverage Loophole for Illegal Aliens
During consideration of the health care reform bill (H.R. 3200), the House Ways & Means Committee rejected an amendment that would have helped ensure illegal aliens would not receive taxpayer-funded health care benefits.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV), would have required the government to verify that enrollees in the "public plan" and applicants for "affordability credits" are not illegal aliens.
Eligibility verification would have been determined by using existing databases — the Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.
(Congressional Quarterly, July 16, 2009; See also FAIR's Press Release, July 22, 2009). The Heller amendment would have addressed many of the same concerns that FAIR raised last week about whether illegal aliens would be able to receive taxpayer-funded health care benefits. (See FAIR's Legislative Update, July 20, 2009).
Speaking in support of his amendment, Congressman Heller stated: "Requiring citizenship
verification for enrollment would ensure only citizens and legal residents receive taxpayer funded healthcare." (Representative Heller's Press Release, July 16, 2009).

Opponents suggested that Heller's amendment was unnecessary because Section 246 of the bill
states: "Nothing … shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." (Legislative Text, Section 246).
Critics of this language correctly point out that:
(1) Section 246 only applies to affordability credits, which are the subsidies to
help people pay for enrolling in a private health insurance plan, but will not prevent
illegal aliens from enrolling in the government-run, taxpayer financed public option health plan; and (2)
with respect to enrollment in private health insurance plans, Section 246 does not contain any meaningful verification procedures to ensure that illegal aliens do not receive subsidies paid for by American taxpayers. Accordingly, although the bill contains a provision limiting eligibility for
the affordability credit to those legally present, it is limited in scope and
virtually meaningless in effect. Unfortunately, despite the merits of the Heller Amendment, the House Ways and Means Committee rejected it on a party-line vote, with 15 Republicans supporting
and 26 Democrats opposing the amendment. (For a list of the members opposing the Heller Amendment, see FAIR's Action Alert).

This may be exactly what the illegal alien lobby is looking for.
In late June, the National Council of La Raza issued a statement demanding that Congress give illegal aliens taxpayer-funded health care under this bill. (See FAIR's Legislative Update, June 22, 2009). This week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) also urged Speaker Pelosi to ensure that illegal aliens
are covered by the health care reform bill. (Roll Call, July 24, 2009). According to a CHC member, the organization's leaders are not asking Speaker Pelosi to "specifically spell something out"
in the bill, but instead to seek to ensure that the bill does not actually prohibit illegal
aliens from receiving benefits. "We're pushing to include everyone in the health care bill. Everyone," the CHC member who asked not to be identified said. "Sometimes if you don't say something, something happens." (Id.).

The health care legislation is now expected to move to the House Energy and Commerce
Committee before it moves to the full House of Representatives.

www.fairus.org
see more news at
http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=21085&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1721#1