Buckeye Reporter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Representative Josh Brecheen (R-OK) introduced legislation to prevent the use of taxpayer-funded healthcare and plan markets for illegal aliens. The No Obamacare For Illegal Aliens Act would amend the definition of “lawfully present” in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to explicitly exclude DACA recipients and bar the use of any federal taxpayer dollars through ACA waivers for providing health insurance coverage for illegal aliens.

“The American taxpayer should never be forced to cover the cost of healthcare for illegal immigrants,” said Senator Vance. “It’s common sense: people who break our laws should not reap the benefits of public programs intended for lawful citizens.”

“We should not be providing taxpayer-subsidized healthcare benefits to illegal aliens—it is that simple. HHS’ proposed rule would cost the American taxpayer more than $100 million in its first year alone and would encourage more aliens to enter our country illegally in the hopes of receiving similar benefits. This is all part of President Biden’s open-border agenda that has so far led 5.5 million aliens to enter our country illegally—more than the population of Oklahoma. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Senator JD Vance of Ohio to protect taxpayer dollars and exclude illegal aliens from further straining critical programs that are intended for Americans and those immigrants here legally,” said Congressman Brecheen.

“Since taking office, the Biden Administration has pursued countless immigration policies that not only fail to secure our southern border, but also make the immigration crisis worse,” said Senator Hawley. “We must prioritize working Americans and their well-being—not spend their hard-earned money on healthcare for illegal immigrants.”

Read the legislation here. Read more from Breitbart here.

Senate cosponsors of the legislation include: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO).

House cosponsors of the legislation include: Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Rep. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

For Background:

• Last week, Senator Vance and Rep. Brecheen sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra calling on him to abandon a recently proposed plan to use taxpayer dollars to provide healthcare to illegal aliens.
• The HHS plan would provide Medicaid, CHIP, and Affordable Care Act Marketplace access to illegal aliens in the United States. If enacted, it would cost taxpayers over $100 million in 2024 alone.
• The text of the Affordable Care Act restricts benefits to people who are “lawfully present” in the United States. In passing the act, President Obama promised that it was “false” to “claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants.”

Original source can be found here.