Yet there is not the opportunity for careful scrutiny and study. Therefore. fundamental misconceptions as to who this applies to are being presented on this legislation on which our colleagues are going to be asked to vote. I think the prudent thing to do is to adopt the motions to strike that I have offered and let these issues be resolved in the conference committee which is now in place to settle the immigration bill and not attempt to do these things at now 11 oclock at night on a bill that has received not a scintilla of the kind of analysis insofar as it relates to the impact on legal aliens as did that immigration bill. That is the argument that I make in support of my motions to strike these provisions. This has very serious implications. not only to the individuals involved. but to the communities in which legal aliens elect to live. As an example. in a study by Los Angeles County of what this will mean in terms of health care in that community. there are estimates that they have 93.000 legal immigrants who would lose their SSI benefits. making them automatically eligible for county funded general assistance. That would cost Los Angeles County $236 million a year in additional costs. I do not think we ought to be imposing an unfunded mandate of $236 million on the citizens of Los Angeles County in the cavalier manner that I suggest we are about to do. We have a process. The conference committee focused on immigration with Senators and Members of the House who were selected because of their knowledge and background on that subject matter. several of whom have served on these important commissions on immigration. That is the form which these issues ought to be resolved. not in this welfare bill.
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immigrants immigration