Mr. Speaker. today I rise to defend the rights of legal immigrants in our country. In particular. I would like to address the potential health care crisis that is threatening the wellbeing of our legal immigrants and our health care system. In the quest to shrink the Federal budget deficit. many government programs have been threatened. Many of my Republican colleagues would lead you to believe that eliminating funding for legal immigrant health care is a fiscally and morally responsible way of attacking the deficit. In the new welfare law. my colleagues have done just that. by leaving many health care funding decisions to state governors. As a result. health insurance programs that currently benefit legal immigrants. such as Californias MediCal Program. stand to lose funding when moneystrapped states refuse to appropriate sufficient funds. Legal immigrant prenatal care is an example of an essential government funded health care program that stands to suffer. Cutting spending by ignoring the health care of those folks is a perverse approach to reforming our Government. While the benefits of regular prenatal care are widely known.
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