Care for Illegals Is No Myth

            “It’s a myth” say defenders of the House health care proposal, HR 3200, that the measure would provide coverage to illegal aliens. One congressman making this claim at a Town Hall meeting was Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). He maintained that the bill specifically excludes illegals.

            The part of the measure he referred to was Section 246 which states, “Nothing in this subtitle shall allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

            Does that statement prove that Frank and the other defenders of the bill are correct? Not at all. Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) rightly concluded that Section 246 is just so much window dressing if the bill “does not require the tools necessary to make sure illegal immigrants do not access taxpayer-funded health care benefits.” With this thought in mind Rep. Heller proposed an amendment to HR 3200 during the House Ways and Means mark-up to provide those tools.

            Specifically he proposed use of the Income Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to screen out illegal aliens applying for benefits. The amendment was defeated by 26 Democrats on the committee. Given that IEVS and SAVE are effective screening tools, one must conclude that the nay-sayers didn’t want effective screening.

            So is Section 246, which calls for exclusion of illegals, worth any more than the paper it’s written on? It’s a question someone should ask Barney Frank at one of his upcoming Town Hall meetings.

            The tactic of passing legislation against illegal aliens, without effective means of enforcement, is old and favorite ploy of pro-alien politicians—such as Barney Frank. Since passage of the first amnesty in 1986, bill after bill promised border control and internal enforcement. But much more often than not, these measures had no funding and no real teeth.

            When the pro-alien politicians begin their drive for amnesty, they will make many promises to soothe the American public. Look at what they do, not what they say.                     It is truly a myth to believe that we can trust them.