Stimulus aids illegal immigrants WASHINGTON (AP) - The $800 billion-plus economic stimulus measure making its way through Congress could steer government checks to illegal immigrants, a top Republican congressional official asserted Thursday. The legislation, which would send tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple, expressly disqualifies nonresident aliens, but it would allow people who don't have Social Security numbers to be eligible for the checks. Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits. A revolt among GOP conservatives to similar provisions of a 2008 economic stimulus bill, which sent rebate checks to most wage earners, forced Democratic congressional leaders to add stricter eligibility requirements. That legislation, enacted in February 2008, required that people have valid Social Security numbers in order to get checks. The GOP official voiced concerns about the latest economic aid measure on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. Republicans have already blasted the package for including what they argue is wasteful spending and omitting tax cuts for wealthier people and businesses they say are needed to jump-start the anemic economy. Not a single Republican voted for an $819 billion version of the plan when it passed the House on Wednesday. GOP senators arranged a midday news conference to voice their concerns.
Not authorized to discuss a bill pending before Congress? Not authorized to discuss a problem with that bill that could easily be fixed in the Senate version or during Conference? Please. This is a Repub hack (probably an aide to McConnell or Boehner) trying to torpedo the Stimulus through rumor and fear without having it traced back to them or their boss. I doubt there really is a problem and I suspect this is aimed at driving the black helicopter crowd into a greater frenzy.
Or it could be a malicious attempt, by a Marxist regime to pilfer the treasurery, by funneling OUR money to special interest group in an effort to buy votes... I wonder what your reaction would be if this were the dems leaking info about a bill being passed in a republican led congress to give tax breaks to the rich?
so people who are undocumented, who pay taxes, may get credits applied against those taxes that they paid? i don't see the big deal.
Mexico has oil and is in desperate need of our system of government and education. Canada, well....there really is no need for Canada until we need fresh water, so you might as well take em now. DD
Slight tangent: why exactly do illegal immigrants have non-Social Security number through which they file taxes and how do they get it? As long as they are paying taxes, I have no problem with illegal immigrants, but this is the first I've heard of such a system.
I remember Dems talking about the craptastic things the Repubs were trying to do, I just don't remember them hiding behind a bogus "unauthorized" claim when discussing bills pending before Congress. Think back to the Medicare Reform Bill, the Bankruptcy Bill, and a number of others... the criticisms and the critics were well known. Edit: And of course, there shouldn't be anything secret about a bill pending before Congress and thus your scenario about "leaking info" is ridiculous on its face.
Not that difficult to show the difference between anonymous Repub fear-mongering and Dems raising policy issues. Here we have a Dem Committee staff criticizing the Repub proposal...
I would really want to see the portions of the bill that authorizes government payments to those that have broken Federal law to get here. I simply doubt that such a provision really exists.
