Speech #1040253108

This rule is designed to prevent both the Members and the public from learning the details of this fatally flawed bill. This bill permits the States to experiment with our children In order to save S60 billion In Federal funds. Almost onethird of these cutsS18 billion--come from treating the children of Immigrants more harshly than other children. The Republican majority bans food stamps and supplemental security Income payments for virtually all legal immigrants. The bill bars Medicaid for legal Immigrants who are elderly or disabled. These Immigrants the Republican majority wants to penalize are legally here. They played by the rules. They meet every requirement of the law. They live and work hard. they pay taxes. they serve In the military. They will not vanish simply because the majority passes this bill. What will happen Is that these costs now paid by the Federal Government will be unfairly shifted to States like Florida. and counties like Dade. that have a high number of legal immigrants. Let me give the House a concrete Idea of how unfair this bill really Is. My own State of Florida estimates that It will lose more than $300 million a year in Federal funds because of this bill. Who ends up paying? My constituents In Dade County and the State of Florida. The bill instructs States to deny school lunches to undocumented immigrants. The chairman of the Dade County School Board says that onequarter of the children In the Dade schools were born in a foreign country. The Dade County schools would have to collect Information from every single child In order to determine which ones can get subsidized lunches. The Republican majority Is trying to balance the budget and cut taxes for the wealthy by creating local paperwork and higher local taxes. It is wrong and it is unfair for the Republican majority to force State and local governments--meaning our taxpayers back hometo pay for legal Immigrant residents who are In this country because they complied with the Immigration laws that previous Congresses have enacted. I urge my colleagues to vote against this rule and against the conference report.