Appropriations Committee Accepts Calvert Amendment Reaffirming No Health Benefits for Illegals

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Appropriations Committee Accepts Calvert Amendment Reaffirming No Health Benefits for Illegals

Today during the Appropriations Committee consideration of the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, Rep. Calvert offered an amendment to the bill which would prevent enrollment of illegal immigrants into taxpayer-funded federal health care benefit programs.

"As the $1 trillion plus health care reform bill looms before Congress, I believe the American people want - at a minimum - to ensure that any federal health benefits programs do not include taxpayer-funded coverage of illegal immigrants, stated Rep. Calvert.

A recent USA Today article details the overwhelming costs of health care for illegal immigrants: the state of California, which is struggling to reconcile a $24 billion budget deficit, pays out an estimated $13 billion per year for benefits and services provided to illegal immigrants.

"When Americans are struggling to find a job and pay the bills, Congress should at least give them the assurance that their tax dollars will not be used to provide health insurance to illegal immigrants," stated Rep. Calvert. "As we've seen from the stimulus bill, the current Administration is already starting to rollback the significant reforms made under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. A significant part of the landmark welfare reform was ending the system that rewarded states with more money for more welfare cases. The welfare reform bill ended that practice and provided flat funding levels with the goal of reducing welfare cases. The stimulus bill reverts to the old system of paying bonuses to states for increased welfare cases. This is just one example of the willingness to circumvent current law and my amendment makes it absolutely clear that health care benefit programs will not be permitted to enroll illegal immigrants."

"We now need to keep the pressure on the U.S. Senate to include the same prohibition," concluded Rep. Calvert.

The committee accepted Rep. Calvert's amendment without objection.

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