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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:13 am Post subject: Democratic SCHIP Bill Benefits Illegal Immigrants, GOP says
Democratic SCHIP Bill Benefits Illegal Immigrants, GOP Charges
By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
July 27, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - House Republicans said Thursday they hope to block provisions of a Democratic bill to expand health care coverage for poor children that could open up the coverage to illegal immigrants.
The Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act would expand the existing State Children's Health Insurance Program - more than doubling it in size - and "improve beneficiary protections under the Medicare, Medicaid and the [SCHIP] program."
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the bill has come under fire from Republicans who view its expansions in coverage as a step toward nationalized health care. Republicans are now also attacking the bill because of three sections dealing with immigration issues.
"Illegal immigrants are about to get an unexpected boost thanks to the Democratic Congress," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement Thursday.
"The Democrats have a proposal that not only raises taxes on middle class families and slashes funding for a popular Medicare program ... it eliminates the requirement that persons applying for Medicaid or SCHIP service show proof of citizenship or nationality."
Calling the bill "poorly crafted," Boehner said the proposal would "dole out billions of dollars to states who then have the option of whether or not to verify that a person is an American citizen before providing taxpayer-funded health benefits like Medicaid and SCHIP. The bill also eliminates the current five-year waiting period required for legal immigrants to receive government health benefits."
One provision, Section 132, would remove a requirement that legal immigrants wait five years before being eligible for government-funded health care coverage, according to Republican opponents.
The other two sections have potential applicability to illegal residents. Section 143 would give states the option of requiring proof of citizenship for enrollment in the programs. Opponents say the provision allows states to "return to a system of blind trust."
The third section highlighted by the Republicans, Section 233, provides grants for translation services.
Critics argue that this could enable illegal residents with a weak grasp of English to take advantage of the provision allowing states to not require proof of citizenship. Opponents also argue that it rejects efforts to "encourage national unity around the English language."
A spokesman for Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the bill's main sponsor, referred questions to the Democratic staff of the Energy and Commerce Committee, who did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. The committee spent much of the day discussing the various proposals, but the immigration provisions were not a major focus of discussion.
Spokesmen for the three Democratic cosponsors of the bill - Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Charles Rangel of New York and Pete Stark of California - also either referred questions to the Energy and Commerce Committee or did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) mentioned one of the disputed provisions during her opening statement during the committee's markup Thursday. She praised Section 143, which grants states flexibility in determining proof of citizenship for applicants.
"As of April 2007, more than 21,000 Wisconsinites lost Medicaid or were denied coverage simply because they did not satisfy federal documentation requirements," Baldwin said, adding that "about two-thirds of these were known by the state to be U.S. citizens and most of the remainder are reported to be likely citizens but have yet to prove it."
She said that "giving the states more flexibility in verifying citizenship will ensure that people receive necessary healthcare."
Boehner's statement criticized the Democratic proposal but did not mention the Republican alternative proposed Wednesday and did not outline ways that Republicans would oppose the immigration provisions of the bill.
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, GOP members on Wednesday introduced an alternative to the Democratic proposal.
The Republican bill would cost $6-7 billion per year and would place tighter restrictions on how states can use the money, limiting benefits to children and requiring proof of citizenship to enroll.
Joined: Jun 01, 2006 Posts: 12473 Location: North Carolina
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:41 am Post subject:
Quote:
"The Democrats have a proposal that not only raises taxes on middle class families and slashes funding for a popular Medicare program ... it eliminates the requirement that persons applying for Medicaid or SCHIP service show proof of citizenship or nationality."
Those pesky House Democrats are up to no good again! I don't know about the rest of you, but burdening the middle class with more taxes to pay for the healthcare of illegal immigrant children doesn't go over well with me!
Quote:
One provision, Section 132, would remove a requirement that legal immigrants wait five years before being eligible for government-funded health care coverage, according to Republican opponents.
Could this be an attempt by the Democrats to plan ahead for what they hope will be the legalization of millions of illegals in a future (amnesty)? Removing the 5 year requirement will hit the American taxpayer extremely hard if 15-20 million illegals are granted legalization overnight. The possibility of this happening does exist because we know the illegal immigrant lovers are not going to stop in their attempt to legalize the illegals. Our only chance over the long-term is to vote their butts out of office, and replace them with someone who supports our cause!
Quote:
The other two sections have potential applicability to illegal residents. Section 143 would give states the option of requiring proof of citizenship for enrollment in the programs. Opponents say the provision allows states to "return to a system of blind trust."
The states that give illegals in-state tuition and driver's licenses have already proven that they support giving illegal benefits. They will be all over this like white on rice!
Quote:
The third section highlighted by the Republicans, Section 233, provides grants for translation services.
The Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act would expand the existing State Children's Health Insurance Program - more than doubling it in size - and "improve beneficiary protections under the Medicare, Medicaid and the [SCHIP] program."
I called my Congressman, Patrick McHenry (R-NC) to make sure he is against this...he is.
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