Tom Tancredo: “I agree with the gentleman when he says that this will not prevent anyone from obtaining services, and it is not my…”

“I agree with the gentleman when he says that this will not prevent anyone from obtaining services, and it is not my intent to prevent anyone from obtaining services. That is really not the purpose of this. Hospitals, yes, they will provide the services. They must under EMTALA. It is absolutely accurate to say that the burden falls somewhere, taxpayers, somewhere along the line, he is right. To me it is just peculiar, to say the least, that we actually take part of the law and identify a program for $1 billion for services for people who have broken the law. That is the peculiar aspect of this. If we had to add $1 billion to the $34.6 billion that we give hospitals in order to care for the poor, if that is the place to do it, that is the place to do it. It is this odd identifying in law a provision for services for people who have broken the law, other than incarceration services. It is also odd, I would say, that there are really only two groups of people in this country that can obtain free medical health care, health services, at any time they want, and that is people who are incarcerated and people who are here illegally. What a strange situation. I just believe that the $1 billion should be reallocated. There are better uses, or at least better placement of it, than in this bill.”