75 in Congress Demand No Stimulus for Illegals

Seventy-five members of Congress asked House leaders on Tuesday to shut down a loophole allowing billions in economic stimulus funds to go to some 300,000 construction workers who are in the country illegally.

“I believe that this figure may be low,” Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., tells Newsmax. Stearns adds, “We owe it to the American workers and to American taxpayers to ensure that their money does not go to employ workers in our country illegally.”

The House version of the $787 billion stimulus package signed by President Obama included a requirement that the legal residency of all employees hired through stimulus spending be verified. As Newsmax reported Monday, that provision was mysteriously stripped from the legislation before it went to the conference committee that reconciled the House and Senate versions of the legislation.

On Tuesday, 75 representatives from both sides of the aisle sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, urging them “to protect taxpayers and legal workers by including these critical jobs protection provisions in any future economic recovery legislation.”

Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), agrees with Rep. Stearns that the actual number of illegals hired by the stimulus funds may be much higher.

That’s because the 300,000 figure applies only to the construction portion of the $787 billion stimulus package. Spending in that sector is expected to generate about 2 million jobs, and illegal workers comprise about 15 percent of the construction workforce.

At least another 1 million non-construction jobs are expected to be generated by stimulus spending. Because about 5 percent of the overall U.S. workforce consists of illegal workers, that would be another 50,000 jobs that “could be” going to illegals, Camarota tells Newsmax.

The economic impact of hiring illegals clearly runs counter to the objectives of the stimulus, experts agree. That’s because each year, illegal workers send tens of billions of dollars earned in the United States to their home countries in the form of “remittances.”

“The fact that illegal aliens send a substantial portion of their earnings abroad reduces the stimulus effect that their employment has inside the United States,” says Robert Rector, senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation. He adds, “It’s outrageous that in a bill designed to provide employment for Americans, Congress has deliberately chosen to allow jobs to be given to illegal immigrants.”

It remains unclear who scrubbed the verification provision from the House-Senate compromise bill. Pelosi, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama are three possibilities who have been mentioned.

“It was somebody high up in the Democratic Party,” Rector tells Newsmax. “We don’t know who it was beyond that.”

A marriage of convenience between pro-immigrant lobbyists and businesses seeking cheap labor helped torpedo the verification requirement.

Rector says eliminating verification without a public debate on the matter simply reflects the way the overall legislation was pushed through Congress. “The stimulus bill was the worst case of special-interest lobbying and secrecy that I have seen in Washington in a quarter of a century,” he says. “It was very clear that they rushed that bill through as rapidly as they possibly could because they did not want the American public to understand what was in the so-called stimulus bill.”

The oversight is beginning to draw fire from other quarters as well. In North Carolina, state legislators have introduced legislation that would require all state contractors receiving federal funds to verify workers’ residency.

Some commentators are protesting the stimulus loophole as well. CNN’s curmudgeonly Jack Cafferty, for example, remarked with his characteristic vim: “This recession/depression isn’t that bad and unemployment is only at 8.1 percent and we’ve only lost 4.4 million jobs in the last 15 months. What’s wrong with giving a few hundred thousand jobs away to people who shouldn’t even be in the country in the first place? This is your government at work.”

By: David A. Patten © 2009 Newsmax, Tuesday, March 10, 2009 5:49 PM

In the end the bill passed without e-verify, by one vote...

No Stimulus - Sign This Petition

Dear Taxpayer,

Will you join me in taking a stand in the first major policy battle of President Obama's Administration?

Stop the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Trillion Dollar Spending Bill, Sign Our Online NO Stimulus Petition TODAY- Click Here

Earlier today in the U.S. Senate we suffered a difficult defeat as the $838 billion senate version of the Pelosi-Reid-Obama spending bill passed the senate with 61 votes.  While today's vote is a disappointing setback we cannot be discouraged.  Much of this fight still lies ahead in the next few days.

Despite today’s passage in the Senate, this fight is far from over!

The bill will still have to go to conference to work out differences between the House and Senate versions, before coming back to both chambers for another vote.  They will fight to add back as much pork as possible, including brand new pork not in either the House or Senate version.

You can fight back today by clicking here and joining the growing army of taxpayers saying NO by signing Americans for Prosperity's petition to stop this disastrous trillion-dollar debt scheme.

We've got to keep raising awareness and increase the pressure against this spending and debt outrage. Thanks to the help of our signers forwarding this to their friends and family, calling talk radio, and promoting it on the internet, we've blown past 200,000 signed petitions! 

Just what is wrong with this bill?

• Under the auspices of a “Comparative Effectiveness Review” the package heavily funds the first steps towards the government-mandated rationing of health care and tramples your right to medical privacy.

• The so-called “Stimulus Package” is being sold to taxpayers as an investment in useful infrastructure like roads and bridges. But the facts prove otherwise. Only 3.6% of the scheme’s $838 billion price tag would actually go to real, practical infrastructure projects--roads and bridges.

• This trillion-dollar debt and spending scheme will provide little or no stimulus, butwill put each and every American household in at least $6,700 of new debt, to be paid by our children and grandchildren.

It is critical that we send a loud and clear message to DC politicians that ordinary citizens simply cannot afford the crushing burden and devastating consequences of this initiative.

Please act today to make your voice heard -- and encourage your friends and family to do the same -- by signing AFP's petition here.

Sincerely,
Tim Phillips 

President, Americans for Prosperity

Americans For Prosperity - The Stimulus Package Outlined

No Stimulus...  Join Us!! Dear Friend, Will you join me in taking a stand in the first major policy battle of President Obama's Administration? You've seen the coverage of the approximately $1 trillion debt scheme pushed by Speaker Pelosi and President Obama that's being called the "Stimulus Package." Sadly, many politicians in Washington, DC really believe that driving our nation even deeper into debt and using our money for wasteful government spending boondoggles is the way to get us out of the current recession. These political leaders don't realize that massive deficits, higher taxes, wasteful spending and heavy-handed regulation are primary reasons for the current recession. You can fight back today by visiting www.NoStimulus.com and joining the growing army of taxpayers saying NO by signing Americans for Prosperity’s petition to stop this disastrous trillion-dollar debt scheme, known as the “Stimulus Package.” It is critical that we send a loud and clear message to DC politicians that ordinary citizens simply cannot afford the crushing burden and devastating consequences of this initiative. Please act now to make your voice heard -- and encourage your friends and family to do the same -- by signing AFP’s petition at www.NoStimulus.com. Sincerely, Tim Phillips Obama Stimulus Package Breakdown January 26, 2009 - 11:16 ET What is the money being spent on-general breakdown between infrastructure, tax cuts, etc…?  Some highlights of the package, by the numbers: • $825 billion total (as of 1/15/09)  • $550 billion in new spending, described as thoughtful and carefully targeted priority investments with unprecedented accountability measures built in.  • $275 billion in tax relief ($1,000 tax cut for families, $500 tax cut for individuals through SS payroll deductions)  • $ 90 billion for infrastructure  • $ 87 billion Medicaid aid to states  • $ 79 billion school districts/public colleges to prevent cutbacks  • $ 54 billion to encourage energy production from renewable sources  • $ 41 billion for additional school funding ($14 billion for school modernizations and repairs, $13 billion for Title I, $13 billion for IDEA special education funding, $1 billion for education technology)  • $ 24 billion for "health information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-saving efficiencies" and "to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments."  • $ 16 billion for science/technology ($10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation; $6 billion to expand broadband to rural areas)  • $ 15 billion to increase Pell grants by $500  • $ 6 billion for the ambiguous "higher education modernization." [Source: Committee on Appropriations: January 15, 2009]  Here is a further breakdown of the package:  NOTE: The following are highlights of the package; for the full 13-page summary from the Appropriations Committee, click here:  (as of 1/15/09)  Energy  $32 billion: Funding for "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste  $16 billion: Renewable energy tax cuts and a tax credit for research and development on energy-related work, and a multiyear extension of renewable energy production tax credit  $6 billion: Funding to weatherize modest-income homes  Science and Technology  $10 billion: Science facilities  $6 billion: High-speed Internet access for rural and underserved areas  Infrastructure  $30 billion: Transportation projects  $31 billion: Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure  $19 billion: Water projects  $10 billion: Rail and mass transit projects  Education  $41 billion: Grants to local school districts  $79 billion: State fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid  $21 billion: School modernization ($15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500; $6 billion for higher education modernization)  Health Care  $39 billion: Subsidies to health insurance for unemployed; providing coverage through Medicaid  $87 billion: Help to states with Medicaid  $20 billion: Modernization of health-information technology systems  $4.1 billion: Preventative care  Jobless Benefits  $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.  $39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.  $20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.  Taxes  Individuals:  *$500 per worker, $1,000 per couple tax cut for two years, costing about $140 billion.  *Greater access to the $1,000-per-child tax credit for the working poor.  *Expansion of the earned-income tax credit to include families with three children  *A $2,500 college tuition tax credit.  *Repeal of a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time.  Businesses:  *An infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of two.  *Bonus depreciation for businesses investing in new plants and equipment  *Doubling of the amount small businesses can write off for capital investments and new equipment purchases.  *Allowing businesses to claim a tax credit for hiring disconnected youth and veterans  [Sources: Associated Press: Highlights of Senate economic stimulus plan; January 23, 2009; WSJ: Stimulus Package Unveiled; January 16, 2009;Committee on Appropriations: January 15, 2009]  When is the money being is going to be spent, and on what?  The government wouldn't be able to spend at least one-fourth of a proposed $825 billion economic stimulus plan until after 2010, according to a preliminary report by the Congressional Business Office that suggests it may take longer than expected to boost the economy. The government would spend about $26 billion of the money this year and $110 billion more next year, the report said. About $103 billion would be spent in 2011, while $53 billion would be spent in 2012 and $63 billion between 2013 and 2019.  • Less than $5 billion of the $30 billion set aside for highway spending would be spent within the next two years, the CBO said.  • Only $26 billion out of $274 billion in infrastructure spending would be delivered into the economy by the Sept. 30 end of the budget year, just 7 percent.  • Just one in seven dollars of a huge $18.5 billion investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs would be spent within a year and a half.  • About $907 million of a $6 billion plan to expand broadband access in rural and other underserved areas would be spent by 2011, CBO said.  • Just one-fourth of clean drinking water projects can be completed by October of next year.  • $275 billion worth of tax cuts to 95 percent of filers and a huge infusion of help for state governments is to be distributed into the economy more quickly.  [Note: The CBO's analysis applied only to 40 percent of the overall stimulus bill, and doesn't cover tax cuts or efforts; a CBO report outlining all of its costs is expected in the next week or so.]  • The Obama administration said $3 of every $4 in the package should be spent within 18 months to have maximum impact on jobs and taxpayers; if House or Senate versions of the bill do not spend the money as quickly, the White House will work with lawmakers to achieve the goal of spending 75% of the overall package over the next year and a half.  [Source: AP: Three-quarters of stimulus to go in 18 months; January 22, 2009; Bloomberg News: Much of Stimulus Wont Be Spent Before 2011, CBO Says; January 20, 2009; link]  Who will be spending the money? Will the states be receiving any money to spend, community organizations? Churches?  The economic stimulus plan now moving through Congress would shower billions of federal dollars on state and local governments desperate for cash:  • The House stimulus bill includes an extra $87 billion in federal aid to state Medicaid programs.  • It allots some $120 billion to boost state and city education programs.  • There's $4 billion for state and local anticrime initiatives in the legislation, not to mention $30-plus billion for highways and other infrastructure projects.  • $6.9 billion to help state and local governments make investments that make them more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions.  • $87 billion to states, increasing through the end of FY 2010 the share of Medicaid costs the Federal government reimburses all states by 4.8 percent, with extra relief tied to rates of unemployment.  • $120 billion to states and school districts to stabilize budgets and prevent tax increases and deep cuts to critical education programs.  Overall, about one-quarter of the entire $825 billion recovery package would be devoted to activities crucial to governors, mayors, and local school boards - making them among the plans biggest beneficiaries.  [Sources: Committee on Appropriations: January 15, 2009; Reuters: Roads, energy, states win in US stimulus plan;15 January 2009; Christian Science Monitor: States to win big in stimulus sweepstakes; House bill allots almost one-quarter of the $825 billion recovery package to states, localities. How will that boost the economy?; January 25, 2009; Link] Source:  The Glenn Beck Show:  http://www.glennbeck.com/