Speech #1090133844

A 2005 GAO study documents that State and local governments get only 25 percent of their costs reimbursed through this program. A report indicates that my State of New York received even less--21 percent of their costs were compensated in 2002 and 24 percent in 2003. The remaining 75 percent of the money collected from the fees deposited in the State Impact Assistance Account would go to States and localities to pay for the cost of providing health and education services to noncitizens. This money is allocated among the States in accordance with a funding formula based on the size and recent growth of the States noncitizen population. Now. to ensure that the funds actually get to the counties and cities and dont sit in State governments. my amendment also requires that at least 70 percent of those funds be passed on to localities within 180 days of the States receiving the money. States can retain the remaining 30 percent to help offset their own costs related to immigration. [52. Pt. 7 8599 I think this amendment helps us fix a problem I care a lot about as I travel around my State. Our local communities have a tradition in New York of being very welcoming. We are a State that is not only built on immigrants but very proud of that. as the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor so eloquently says. But the costs of immigration have steadily increased. and the Federal Governments neglect has strained local and State government budgets. I think if we pass any kind of Immigration reform and we dont take into account the strains on the budget on State and local governments. we will not have done our job. This amendment also helps State and local governments not only recoup some of their expenditures. but it underlines a message to communities that they are working together. they welcome people who work hard and who make a contribution and will be on the path to earned legalization. So I hope this amendment will be supported. It has support from the National Immigration Law Center. the National League of Cities. the National Association of Counties. and the National Conference of State Legislatures. I think our laws can be both fair and strict. I think we can have laws which dont shut the doors of America to people who want to make a contribution and at the same time dont really provide disincentives to communities to be part of that welcoming tradition. Balancing all of the interests in this debate is not easy. but I appreciate the efforts that are being made on this floor to wrestle with this difficult problem. I hope we will also send a message to local communities that we are here to help them because they dont set immigration policy. they dont enforce immigration laws. but they are often left holding the bag for the costs that flow because we havent done our job. So I hope that this amendment finds favor in this body and we send a message to our local executives and legislatures around our country that we are going to send them some help to be part of a comprehensive immigration solution.