Posted on 09/30/2009 12:01:19 PM PDT by markomalley
Senate Finance Committee Democrats rejected a proposed a requirement that immigrants prove their identity with photo identification when signing up for federal healthcare programs.
Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that current law and the healthcare bill under consideration are too lax and leave the door open to illegal immigrants defrauding the government using false or stolen identities to obtain benefits.
Grassley's amendment was beaten back 10-13 on a party-line vote.
The bill, authored by committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would require applicants to verify their names, places of birth and Social Security numbers. In addition, legal immigrants would have to wait five years, as under current law, after obtaining citizenship or legal residency to access federal healthcare benefits such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program or receive tax credits or purchase insurance through the exchange created by the legislation.
But the would not require them to show a photo ID, such as a drivers license. Without that requirement, the bill "remains dearly lacking when it comes to identification," Grassley said. "Frankly, I'm very perplexed as to why anyone would oppose this amendment," he said.
But Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who represents the border state of New Mexico, said that the type of fraud Grassley said he wants to prevent is highly uncommon. "The way I see the amendment, it's a solution without a problem," Bingaman said.
Unreal. The country is bankrupt.
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Nice doublespeak. If it's rare, what's the harm in requiring ID?
Send all illegals to the homes of the Democrats. They can get their health care there. These guys really don’t want to get re-elected do they?
The sad part is, they probably will get re-elected.
Joe Wilson was right.
Please...no wonder we're losing this country -- because you'd accept this totalitarian outrage as long as it required immigrants to have picture id's, or as long as it didn't explicitly endorse abortion (even though it does so implicitly by failing to explicitly forbid it).
No wonder we get bamboozled...we beg for it.
Bingaman isn’t trying to be disingenuous, he’s just plain stupider than a rock.
You're missing the point. This vote aptly demonstrates that Rep. Wilson was correct when he told Obama 'You Lie!' when Obama claimed health care reform would cover illegals.
Let me get this straight.
I’ll have to show a photo ID to buy a can of beer, but not to receive thousands of dollars in “free”, unconstitutional health care benefits from Uncle Sucker.
As a people, our priorities are f^%$ed up.
With the left, it's getting really, really hard to tell the difference any longer.
Bingaman isn’t trying to be disingenuous, he’s just plain stupider than a rock.
+++++++++
How do these people get elected? And WHO elects them??
bump
ping
Exactly.
“The way I see the amendment, it’s a solution without a problem,” Bingaman said.
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What a crock! The dims prefer a problem without a solution. If what he says were really what he believes there would be nothing for him to lose by voting for the measure. How can a solution without a problem cause any harm?
I think right now the plan is to get some stuff in the bill that will turn off the left...if we can do that it can be defeated.
I see. I certainly wasn't concerned with vindicating Wilson.
What’s more important is to continually point out that just about everything the Dems are saying about their agenda is a big, fat lie.
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