Sen. Sessions To Offer A Budget Point Of Order On The Senate Immigration Bill
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
WASHINGTON – Citing the “staggering” fiscal impact of the Senate immigration bill on the federal budget, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) today announced that he will raise a budget point of order in an effort to derail the bill. Under Senate budget rules, any member may challenge legislation that increases federal spending by $5 billion in any 10-year period beginning in 2016. Because a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate states that the Senate immigration bill will increase federal spending by $54 billion in the first 10 years alone, it is reasonable to expect that spending will far exceed the $5 billion threshhold in future 10-year periods.
“Before this debate concludes, my colleagues will have to decide whether they want this egregious bill enough to bust the budget,” Sessions said. “At a time when we’re already facing huge federal deficits, it is the height of irresponsiblity to pass legislation that we know will add hundreds of billions of dollars to that deficit. This issue has yet to be thoughtfully considered, much less openly debated, in the Senate. It’s my hope that the budget point of order will trigger such a debate.”
Sessions hosted a roundtable discussion today with Robert Rector, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Rector, who today described the bill as a “fiscal catastrophe,” said the measure would prove to be the largest expansion of government welfare in 35 years. According to Rector, the bill would increase long-term federal spending by at least $50 billion a year.
For example, Medicaid spending would increase by $33 billion a year if a third of the nation’s 10 million illegal aliens who will get amnesty under the bill bring in a single elderly parent. Medicaid payments for the elderly today average around $11,000 per person per year.
“These are staggering numbers that indicate that this bill might have costs as great as half a trillion dollars in any 10-year period,” Sessions said. “This means this bill is a huge, monumental budget buster.”
If the Senate votes to waive the budget and continue to move toward passage of the bill, Sessions hopes his colleagues will at least vote to pass his amendment to prohibit amnestied illegal aliens from getting the earned income tax credit (EITC), which is a form of welfare designed to benefit low income American families. Under the Senate bill, they would be eligible to receive the credit.
“Current illegal aliens should be precluded from receiving tax credits and benefits which were created to assist low income American workers,” Sessions said.
According to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would increase payments for refundable tax credits, including the EITC, by $29.4 billion.
Senator Sessions is one guy who seems always to be on the right side of the issues. He has principles and stands up for them. Although most Senators are not good candidates for President, I believe he would be. Should he ever decide to enter the race, I could give him a serious look.