Let's TALK...

 Let’s talk about the Amnesty Bill's Impact on Obamacare

I. THE PROCESS IS BROKEN

• Too Rushed: Congress needs more time to read and review the bill.  We also need more hearings and opportunities for feedback to improve the current legislation.  We need to fully understand how this amnesty bill would affect Obamacare.
• Lack of Transparency: This bill is another “behind-closed-doors” piece of legislation that was written by special-interest lobbying groups.
• Lack of Accountability: This amnesty bill gives too much discretion and power to an unelected official (the Secretary of Homeland Security) and also creates an unmanageable bureaucracy.
• Security First: The first step for any immigration legislation under consideration MUST be national security.  We have heard over and over that Congress is going to get serious about securing the border and that must be a top priority for any immigration legislation.
• Fiscal Responsibility: We do not yet know the true cost of this legislation, and we especially do not understand the full impact of this amnesty bill on Obamacare's costs.  

II. CONGRESS IS NOT BEING HONEST ABOUT FULL COST OF OBAMACARE IF AMNESTY WERE TO BE GRANTED

• Congress has a Constitutional duty to provide oversight and to thoroughly analyze any piece of legislation before taking a vote on it.  Part of that responsibility includes examining the fiscal impact of any bill. 
• The Senate's proposed amnesty bill would enable between 10 and 12 million people to gain legal status in the United States.  With that legal status, they will become eligible for federal welfare programs and subsidies, including Medicaid and access to the taxpayer-subsidized state exchanges. 
• The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 7 million of these new legal residents could qualify for subsidized health care programs through Obamacare.
• The Senators who are pushing for this amnesty bill are being dishonest about the true fiscal impact of allowing millions of currently illegal residents to gain access to Obamacare.  
• The pro-amnesty Senators know how unpopular Obamacare remains with the public, and they have been very careful not to talk about how their amnesty bill would affect Obamacare's costs.

III.  ANOTHER TRAIN WRECK

• Obamacare is a fiscal train wreck and this amnesty bill will only make it worse. 
• The primary way that Obamacare expands health care coverage is by allowing more people to participate in Medicaid – a program that produces dismal health outcomes and is an unsustainable burden on the federal budget as well as on all of the states' budgets. 
• According to President Obama's original estimates, setting up the state exchanges would cost $2 billion.  Now, in April of this year, Secretary of Health and Human Services Sebelius said that she expects to spend $4.4 billion on the state exchanges by the end of the year.  The cost of implementing the state exchanges is more than double the original estimates. Adding more people to the state exchanges due to this amnesty bill will further increase the cost of these exchanges.   
• According to Senator Jeff Sessions, the Senate's amnesty bill contains loopholes that would enable "amnestied" residents to receive immediate health care benefits – including participating in Obamacare.  
• Obamacare is already driving up the cost of health insurance for American families.  Adding millions of additional uninsured people to the system will be a burden not only on our federal budget, but also on our hospitals and the entire health care system.