Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 24, 2005)
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Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, envision this: an undocumented immigrant suffers from severe chest pains and a nagging cough. Too frightened to seek out medical attention in the beginning, he lets this condition persist. He finds himself in the emergency room of the local hospital. The first order of business for the emergency physician or nurse is not to ask them where it hurts and do a physical exam to see if their life is in imminent danger, but to ask their immigration status and get a sworn statement to that effect.
And if that patient cannot prove their legal status because they do not happen to have the documentation on them, that same doctor must make the choice not to provide care to this person or at least they must report them to immigration officials before providing lifesaving treatment. I ask you, in this universe, what kind of choice is that?
There is no choice in asking a person to choose life or death. This amendment unfairly and wrongly punishes health care professionals for doing what they are ethically and legally obligated to do. Our doctors and nurses do everything they can to help these individuals, regardless of their status, in order to save lives and to nurse them back to health. Today's hospitals are already underfunded, understaffed, and under tremendous pressure to meet the new demands of homeland security preparedness.
I think we can all agree that our Nation's immigration system is broken. It does not meet our security needs, our economic needs, nor does it reflect the American values of strong families and respect for work. However, we will never fix our country's immigration ills by punishing our local hospitals for treating the ill.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the Tancredo amendment.
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