Speech #1040178172

Mr. President. this legislation would require the Immigration and Naturalization Service to reimburse States and localities for the cost of emergency ambulance services provided to illegal aliens injured while crossing the border. Currently. border communities pay the high cost associated with providing emergency ambulance services to illegal aliens. Although Federal authorities consistently have placed illegal aliens injured crossing the border in State and local custody in order to obtain medical services. the Federal authorities have failed to reimburse local Governors for the emergency ambulance services provided. As a result. Federal authorities have left border States and localities to pick up the tab for a Federal responsibility. This cannot continue. In my home State of Arizona. the border city of Nogales has been particularly impacted by the failure of Federal authorities to reimburse the city for the costs of transporting aliens injured while crossing the border. Between April 22 and July 31. 1995. 44 calls were made by the Border Patrol to the city requesting ambulance service for illegal aliens injured while crossing the border. Because these patients rarely pay their own ambulance transport bill. the financial burden on the city has become very heavy. The city has paid almost $200.000 in ambulance costs in the past 6 years. This cost is significant to N6gales. a border community which has only 20.000 inhabitants. a low tax base. and recently reported a S100.000 deficit. The devaluation of the peso has left many Southwestern border communities in a similarly depressed financial position. Illegal immigration is a Federal matter and our Nations border communities cannot afford and should not be forced to pay for emergency ambulance services provided at the request of Federal authorities. Again. that is a Federal responsibility. I recognize that a separate and much broader debate is being waged across the Nation concerning a States obligation to provide health care and other social services to illegal aliens residing within its borders. That issue is much larger and remains to be resolved. Today. however. I believe we can all agree that Federal authorities who call upon local emergency ambulance services for injured illegal aliens should be required to pay. for those ambulance services. Our border States and communities should not be saddled with this additional financial burden.* By Mr. SIMON: