Sen. Bill Cassidy, a leading Republican on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee, recently spearheaded a bill aimed at prohibiting blue states from utilizing federal tax dollars to subsidize programs providing benefits to illegal immigrants.
Governor Newsom recently announced California’s plan to begin providing universal healthcare access, which would be available to the state’s estimated 4.4 million illegal immigrants. “With these new investments, California will become the first state to achieve universal access to health care coverage,” Newsom said.
The Protect Medicaid Act would bar federal funding from being used by states like California to roll out Medicaid for noncitizens. The bill seeks to prevent American taxpayers from other states from enduring the financial burden of such initiatives, requiring the specific states to cover the costs entirely.
“Medicaid for migrants is a magnet for more illegal immigration,” stated Dr. Cassidy. “This is terrible public policy for California citizens who depend on Medicaid, middle-class families paying taxes, and state debt. Taking care of the most vulnerable Americans should be our priority. Attempting to provide health care to everyone around the globe for free is not possible or feasible. Compassion that cannot be sustained is not compassion.”
Fellow Tennessee congresswoman Sen. Marsha Blackburn joined Cassidy in defending the tax dollars of Americans around the country. She emphasized that it is not fair for hard-working Americans to be forced to subsidize illegal immigrants while encouraging more migrants to enter the country illegally.
“Tennesseans and the American people do not want their tax dollars subsidizing Medicaid for illegal immigrants,” said Blackburn. “Not only is it unfair to hardworking citizens, but it incentivizes more illegal immigration and puts the care of millions of Americans on the back burner.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, representing Mississippi, echoed Blackburn’s point, stating the way to solve the ensuing border crisis is not to further incentivize migrants from seeking entry into the United States. “There is a crisis at our southern border, and the solution cannot be to reward bad behavior,” said Senator Wicker. “Mississippians are already feeling the pain in their own pocketbooks. The last thing they want is to subsidize an illegal immigrant’s journey to the United States.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith stood firm for her Mississippi constituents in supporting the legislation. Hyde-Smith maintained that the citizens of her state should not be forced to subsidize the benefits of illegal immigrants in other states.
“California and other liberal states have gamed the system for years to provide Medicaid to illegal immigrants, which is against the law and forces Mississippi taxpayers to foot some of the bill. The Biden border crisis and liberal policies are making the situation worse and more costly,” said Senator Hyde-Smith. “This bill is an attempt to stop the abuse of the Medicaid program and force liberal states to carry the burden of their choice to give Medicare benefits to noncitizens.”
Republicans have vociferously criticized the Democrats for their solutions, or lack thereof, to the ongoing border and migrant crisis plaguing the country. Many consider the unfettered illegal immigration that has occurred under Biden’s watch to be one of the greatest failures of his administration.
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