This comment was posted at an old post (here) by reader Toni Hagen and would likely not be seen by most readers so I’m posting it below. Although we primarily report on legal immigration reform issues, we also bring you the occasional illegal alien news. This plea for help is timely since all the talk these days is of health care reform and how much it will cost. I just went to FAIR’s website and this is on the site but there is more.
Help FAIR [Federation for American Immigration Reform] Stop Congress from giving YOUR Tax Dollars to Illegal Aliens!
Last week, Democratic Leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their 1,018 page health care reform bill, entitled the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009″ (H.R. 3200). While Congressional Leaders have repeatedly claimed that this Obama-backed health care bill will not cover illegal aliens, FAIR’s analysis has shown that the legislation actually contains several loopholes that would give taxpayer-funded health insurance to illegal aliens and give illegal aliens handouts – in the form of so-called “affordability credits” to pay for health insurance!
While the House Ways & Means Committee was considering this bill last Thursday, July 16, Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) attempted to close these loopholes. Heller offered an amendment that would have done two important things:
First, the Heller Amendment would have required that any participant in the “public” plan created under the bill must prove they are not an illegal alien by demonstrating eligibility through the Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. This part of the Heller Amendment would have ensured that American taxpayers wouldn’t be forced to foot the bill to enroll illegal aliens in the government-run, taxpayer-subsidized “public” plan created under the health care bill!
Second, the amendment would have required each recipient of the “affordability credit” created under the bill to also have their eligibility verified by the IEVS and SAVE systems. This part of the Heller Amendment would have ensured that illegal aliens who buy private insurance could not receive taxpayer-funded handouts to help offset (or, perhaps, completely pay for) the cost of their insurance premiums.
Incredibly, the House Ways and Means Committee voted on a party-line basis to reject the Heller Amendment! This astonishing vote directly contradicts the will of the American people, 80% of whom oppose covering illegal aliens under this health care bill. (Rasmussen Reports). Many lawmakers apparently don’t seem to care about the views of the people they were elected to serve.
The health care bill is now moving to the House Energy and Commerce Committee for further consideration. That committee twice postponed consideration of the bill this week because moderate Democrats are concerned about some of the provisions – and cost – of the bill. That gives us a chance to get the Energy and Commerce Committee to fix what the Ways & Means Committee would not. This may be our last chance to ensure that the House bill doesn’t provide taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens! We can make a difference before this bill moves to the floor for consideration by the entire U.S. House of Representatives.
Here’s what you can do:
1.) The following is a list of all of the 26 Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee who voted against the Heller Amendment. If the name of your Representative is on this list, or there is one from your state, be sure to call them! If there are no members from your state, call two or three that are closest to your state geographically and tell them:
You don’t support taxpayer-funded health care benefits for illegal aliens.
You are very upset at how they voted on the Heller Amendment.
You expect Congress to include meaningful verification procedures before people can access taxpayer-funded health care benefits.
A WORD OF WARNING: the offices you call may try to tell you that SECTION 246 of the bill will prevent illegal aliens from getting benefits. DO NOT BELIEVE IT!! That section is meaningless because the bill doesn’t contain any means to enforce that provision. The Heller Amendment would have put the necessary enforcement tools in place to prevent this giveaway to illegal aliens, but the following members opposed putting those tools in place!
Charlie Rangel (D-New York) 202-225-4365
Xavier Becerra (D-California) 202-225-6235
Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada) 202-225-5965
Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) 202-225-4811
Joseph Crowley (D-New York) 202-225-3965
Artur Davis (D-Alabama) 202-225-2665
Danny Davis (D-Illinois) 202-225-5006
Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) 202-225-4865
Bob Etheridge (D-North Carolina) 202-225-4531
Brian Higgins (D-New York) 202-225-3306
Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin) 202-225-5506
John Larson (D-Connecticut) 202-225-2265
Sander Levin (D-Michigan) 202-225-4961
John Lewis (D-Georgia) 202-225-3801
Jim McDermott (D-Washington) 202-225-3106
Kendrick Meek (D-Florida) 202-225-4506
Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts) 202-225-5601
Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey) 202-225-5751
Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota) 202-225-2611
Linda Sanchez (D-California) 202-225-6676
Allyson Schwartz (D-Pennsylvania) 202-225-6111
Pete Stark (D-California) 202-225-5065
John Tanner (D-Tennessee) 202-225-4714
Mike Thompson (D-California) 202-225-3311
Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) 202-225-5341
John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky) 202-225-5401