The illegal immigration issue is emerging as the biggest threat to passing healthcare reform in the House.
Congressional Hispanics have threatened to vote against the bill because of a last-minute threat from within the Democratic Caucus to bolster the House bill’s immigration restrictions to match those included in the Senate Finance bill.
And they’re also fighting President Barack Obama, the original sponsor of the language prohibiting illegal immigrants from accessing the public health insurance exchange.
On Thursday afternoon, four leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) traveled to the White House to meet with Obama on behalf of the entire group.
Officially, the purpose of their meeting was to talk to the president about healthcare.
But CHC members, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the group’s message was clear: Drop your insistence on preventing illegal immigrants from accessing the public exchange, even if their only option is to pay for insurance plans entirely out of their own pockets.
A public exchange is a nationwide pool of health insurance providers that would facilitate access to coverage for individuals and employers.
Obama has promoted the concept as a key component of healthcare reform.
The House healthcare bill already bars illegal immigrants from enrolling in the public option and from receiving subsidies for health plans.
But if the final Senate healthcare bill contains the exchange-prohibition provision that’s in the Finance Committee bill, the provision could also be included in a conference report.
And CHC members have said publicly that they would have a very difficult time voting for any healthcare bill that contained such a provision.
“I am concerned about the manner in which the exchange has been characterized, and I understand the politics of it,” said CHC Vice Chairman Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), “but it is very bad policy.”
Gonzalez was at the White House meeting along with CHC Chairwoman Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), the only Hispanic member of the Democratic leadership.
Vulnerable Democrats may push for language that would match the Senate provision on preventing illegal immigrants from accessing a public exchange.
And while there was no identifiable sponsor or group of members pushing for that last-minute change, a Democrat with direct knowledge of the process for guiding the healthcare bill through the Rules Committee described it as a distinct possibility.
If House leaders determined that they needed to insert the Senate immigration language in order to pass the healthcare bill, the Senate language would be included in a “self-executing” rule allowing for consideration of the healthcare bill containing the change.
Should that occur, members of the CHC have said they will vote against the rule. Assuming all Republicans vote no, a revolt of any more than 37 Democrats would torpedo the legislation. The CHC has 27 members.
But a significant number of Democrats — largely from conservative districts — may demand such a change if they believe Obama and Senate Democrats will stand firm on their support for stronger language than the current House language.
“I have to be able to reassure my constituents that those who are here illegally cannot avail themselves of the provisions provided in this healthcare bill,” said freshman Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.). “The Senate language may tighten that up a bit.”
Connolly said he wouldn’t necessarily need the Senate language to allay his concerns, but he said that he can’t make that determination until he sees the final language of the bill.
“You’ve got real competing interests among Democrats in the House over abortion and immigration, and I believe the immigration issue is the more significant of the two,” he said.
06 Nov 2009 @ 05:51 pm
5 comments
From snark - 09 Nov 2009 @ 01:19 am
Well the democrap obama worshipers have their "victory" complete with no everifhy and a free ride for the soon to be legal voting democrats We are becoming a third world dictatorship.. this is madness We the people have become second rate to illegal trash...I wonder where is the outrage from American Blacks this certainly is gonna cut into their slice of the pie
From conservative1 - 07 Nov 2009 @ 04:53 am
In Reply to BorderSentry: A bunch of dumbass kids, monkeys and the one's in the middle that are independently stupid. And, the minority left that uses the above mentioned.
From Anonyma - 07 Nov 2009 @ 03:09 am
Wow. Here is an actual benefit from having illegal aliens overrunning our nation. Well, let's get the vote over, lose the bill, and start the deportations.
From BorderSentry - 06 Nov 2009 @ 07:25 pm
Let's hope it kills that gigantic power-grab disguised as a "health care" bill. That thing is an absolute disaster! Who voted for that Marxist POS Cap'n Kenya anyhow?
From Heartwood - 06 Nov 2009 @ 06:14 pm
Insanity: To all you burglars: All the money you make from selling my personal property, that you are currently in posession of, you can now, under House Bill 53, invest in an IRA and avoid paying taxes, just like your hard working victims do. Your ill gotten gains will grow, tax free, until you retire at or after age 58. You then must pay taxes on the proceeds, but imagine how much more money you will retire with. This provision is offered to you by a progressive Democratic Congress that is trying to promote retirement savings by encourging burglary.
From snark - 09 Nov 2009 @ 01:19 am
the pie
