Political Quotes

“this amendment involves deeming. It is a complicated issue. Let me try and explain it simply. It only involves legal aliens. Presently, deeming only applies to cash programs, AFDC, SSI, food stamps. This amendment would remove the deeming requirements for Federal programs not traditionally considered Federal welfare programs. It would retain the deeming for the three principal Federal cash welfare programs: AFDC, SSI, and food stamps. Under the bill, a child of a legal immigrant would not have access to Head Start; a legal immigrant would not have access to Medicaid, would not have access to child protective services, would not have access to maternal health services, would not have access to foster care, would not have access to custodial care. All of these programs deemed--excuse me, not deemed--but all these programs which are noncash programs would not be available for anyone who was in this country legally. The amendment also provides that no one in this country legally who is a battered wife could ever make use of a domestic abuse program, a battered wife shelter. There are actually some 80 programs that provide noncash assistance, and I have named most of them. The most important one of these is Medicaid. Everyone in this room has heard Governors across this Nation bellow that the Federal Government is not dealing with the costs of immigrants to the States. Every one of them says this, that has the program.…”