BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2581, the Verify
First Act, which will put important safeguards in place to ensure that
federal tax dollars are not fraudulently used to pay for illegal
immigrants to enroll in Obamacare. Right now, the federal government provides Obamacare premium tax
credits to individuals before fully making sure that these individuals
rightfully qualify for these benefits. For example, the federal government has wrongfully issued hundreds of
millions of dollars in tax credits to individuals without first
verifying their immigration status. After the money goes out the door,
the Internal Revenue Service must attempt to track down these
individuals to recoup the money. Last year the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government
Affairs reported that more than $750 million in taxpayer dollars went
to 500,000 people who did not meet the qualifications for those
benefits. H.R. 2581 addresses this issue by requiring that the Social Security
Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department
of Health and Human Services to certify that an individual is a
citizen, national, or legal immigrant before they receive a health care
tax credit. Given that our nation is nearly $20 trillion in debt, we cannot
afford to hand out hundreds of millions of dollars in Obamacare tax
credits to individuals who do not qualify. This bill is a common-sense measure that puts the interests of
hardworking taxpayers first and ensures that health care dollars will
be directed only at those who are eligible.
Keywords matched
immigration illegal
immigrants immigrant