Thread: Senior Democrat turns healthcare debate into fight over immi

Senior Democrat turns healthcare debate into fight over immigration
By Alexander Bolton - 09/18/09 06:00 AM ET

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is putting Democrats in a bind by seeking to let illegal immigrants benefit from the healthcare overhaul.

Menendez, the only Hispanic senator, has considerable leverage with Democrats because he may represent the deciding vote on the Senate Finance Committee set to mark up the legislation next week. He’s also the party’s campaign committee chairman, giving him added influence.



Menendez said he is withholding his support for the bill until his concerns about immigration and other matters are addressed.

His objections come one week after President Barack Obama staunchly disputed GOP accusations that the healthcare proposal would aid illegal immigrants - prompting the now-famous “You lie!â€

I see some cracks in the liberal facade....

I just saw this one on Drudge. Yupp, we knew this was coming:

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/se ... _position1

Why doesn't this surprise me ?

No insurance for illegal aliens period. And government needs to stay out of the insurance business. Tort reform and allowing insurance companies to compete in all states will lower insurance costs.

Senator Wants Illegal Aliens Covered In Health Plan


Last Updated: Mon, 09/21/2009 - 3:06pm

An influential senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee is withholding support for his party’s recently drafted healthcare reform bill because illegal immigrants won’t benefit under the plan.

The only Hispanic in the U.S. Senate, New Jersey’s Robert Menendez, doesn’t like the way illegal aliens are treated in the bill, recently released by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and refuses to vote for it until changes are made. This could create a huge problem, according to the congressional newspaper that broke the story, because Menendez has considerable leverage and may represent the committee’s deciding vote.

Specifically, Menendez objects to the portion of the bill that forbids illegal immigrants from buying health insurance through newly created exchanges that will be set up to cut costs. The senator, once among the highest ranking Democrats in the U.S. House, has joined forces with Hispanic advocacy groups that have denounced the proposed measure’s emphasis on legal and illegal immigrants.

Menendez is also concerned that, under the bill, families made up of both legal and illegal residents won’t be treated fairly because they can’t purchase reduced-premium insurance from companies participating in the new exchange. That means they would be forced to pay much higher prices for private coverage than legal residents.

Indeed the drafted bill says that families that include illegal immigrants will receive lower federal subsidies than those without. That means that the income of an illegal alien will be counted when assessing a family’s federal aid although the illegal immigrant will not be eligible for healthcare subsidies. This concerns Menendez terribly, though changing it would put him at odds with the White House.

President Obama has steadfastly maintained that his healthcare plan will not help illegal immigrants, although some aren’t buying it. A few weeks ago a Republican lawmaker made worldwide headlines for shouting out “You lie!â€