Speech #1090133866

I rise in support of the amendment sponsored by my colleague. Senator CLINTON. cosponsored by a number of us on this side. I commend her efforts to address a very important component of the immigration debate. This amendment is going to provide some much needed and overdue relief to States and localities that have had to bear a disproportionate share of the burden when they have been host to a large number of undocumented immigrants. Too many of our State and local governments are overwhelmed and underfinanced. As the number of undocumented immigrants goes up in a community. so do the costs of services that the local governments provide to themincluding increased costs for law enforcement. health care. and education. These localities are not to blame for the Federal Governments failure to adequately secure our borders or to enforce the immigration laws against employers who do not play by the rules. But more and more. they had to devote already scarce resources to deal with the rising numbers of undocumented Immigrants. They have done the right thing. They have provided medical care. education. other public services. But it has all come at the expense of local taxpayers who are already stretched too thin. and that is not fair. As we work toward comprehensive reform. we in the Federal Government owe them our help. We need to make sure the flood of new immigrants does not drown out our local governments. We need to make sure that while we embrace our new immigrants we dont give the local communities the cold shoulder. This is not just a problem on the southern border. In Suffolk County on Long Island there are about 40.000 undocumented immigrants. Total estimates for all of Long Island are about 100.000. In Suffolk. the annual cost of meeting the needs of undocumented immigrants is estimated to be $24 million. Of course. property taxes are too high. The counties are strapped for cash. This amendment will offer some much needed relief to localities such as Suffolk County that have had to go it alone for too long. And it will not require finding new sources of revenue. It will take some of the fees already in the bill and give the bulk of that money for reimbursement of health care and educational costs paid out by the States and localities. and the rest goes to SCAAP. to pay for the costs of detaining noncitizens. a program I have been much involved with in the past. These funds will be targeted toward States that have seen the sharpest rise in their noncitizen populations. and we are going to get the money from the States to their localities fast because they are feeling the strain now. States will have to get most of the money to the localities within 180 days once the money is allocated. Taxpayers in our country are already being pushed to the limit. They didnt cause the problems. but they far too often have to bear the financial consequences. and they should not be left holding the bag. This financial assistance will not solve every problem associated with undocumented immigration. but it will go a long way toward lifting the financial strain in our States and localities all over the country. I yield. If my colleague from Massachusetts wants.