Speech #1030097821

Mr. President. I recently read with interest and great disappointment an item taken from an article of the San Antonio Express News of September 26 concerning the Clinton administrations proposition on health care reform and illegal aliens. The article left the impression that the administration will consider the verification of ones legal status before obtaining eligibility for health care to be a low priority. Even though the new health care plan did not generally contain coverage for illegal aliens. I have every concern that those here illegally could easily work their way into coverage under the plan. As Members of this body know. I have introduced a bill in this Senate for several years to prohibit the payment of Federal benefits to illegal aliens. I have long felt that we must have a ciear. unequivocal. and uniform policy in this regard. I will continue to work toward that goal. But as we begin the important and necessary task of health care reform. I think it is the appropriate time to clarify that all reasonable efforts should and will be made to ensure that our carefully crafted nationwide health plan. in fact. excludes those here illegally. There is a serious danger that the real or perceived availability of health care benefits to illegal aliens will create a further magnet for illegal immigration. I am not advocating a hardheart position. I simply state the fact that we have limited resources to implement health care coverage for all Americans. The budget dollars which go to illegal aliens will necessarily be taken away from everyone else. The emergency medical services should and will be provided to all who need them. as is the case under the current law. and no one will be turned away during a lifethreatening condition. But we must guard against illegal aliens taking advantage of emergency hospital facilities for routine health care. I simply say that illegal aliens should not be included in the health care plan coverage period. Furthermore. and more importantly. we should take explicit measures to enforce that exclusion. At a minimum. the administration should check on the legal status of individuals before issuing the health care plan card. I feel that the implementation of universal coverage and the issuance of individual cards provides a prime opportunity for the verification of legal status. The Congress embraced this concept in 1986 when it passed. as part of the Immigration Reform Act. the SAVE Program. SAVE. the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlements Program. establishes a method to ensure that entitlement benefits do not go to illegal aliens. The problem has been somewhat unclear. and the Federal policy on entitlement eligibility. along with expansive court decisions. have made this program less successful than it could be or should be. We already require employers to make a goodfaith effort to verify the legal status of their employees upon their hiring through a review of their documentation.